Race Unity crowd the biggest yet

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PATRICK HAMILTON Zoom

Parents photograph their children playing on Tribe Vibe drums during Sunday's Race Unity Day in the Victory Square playing fields.

PATRICK HAMILTON/Nelson Mail

UNITY: Lakota Sioux Jim Yellowhawk has a moment on Scott Harrison's 1941 Army Indian during yesterday's Race Unity Day.

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Yesterday's Race Unity Day attracted the biggest crowd to date, with more than 4000 people gathering at Victory Square to celebrate the Nelson region's ethnic diversity.

The annual celebration was a great day out, with plenty of food, performances, craft and happy people, said Nelson Multicultural Council co-ordinator Evey McAuliffe, who organised the day.

"It was fantastic – gosh we were blessed with the weather! We had thousands of people coming and going, and even though we widened out the site this year, it was still full.

"It was the biggest yet – it just builds itself."

Ms McAuliffe said the event's growth could be attributed to the growing number of multicultural events generating community interest.

"When I first came here 24 years ago, it was a very different place from what it is now. People are now almost hungry for more of these events. Instead of competing with one another, all these multicultural events we have add value."

Ms McAuliffe said people were increasingly identifying themselves as world citizens. "Coming to something like this is not just about tasting food and seeing the dancers, but it's a chance to actually talk to people."

One of the highlights of the day was a spontaneous dance by women from Nelson's Kayan community.

"It's a mark of New Zealand's freedom that people have a choice to either display their culture or not. It was such a delightful performance," Ms McAuliffe said.

The Kayan woman also sold hand-woven scarves and bags which they create through a Nelson group called Sukita. Originally from Myanmar, they fled their increasing poverty and hardship to the northern Thailand border, where they were sent to a camp to live for nearly two decades.

Race Unity Day also featured performances from people of Maori, Japanese, Scottish, Indian, Chinese, Bhutanese, Sri Lankan, Chin Burmese, Filipino, Native American and Middle Eastern descent.

- © Fairfax NZ News