VideoFolklorama: a feast of global culture on the streets of Winnipeg

Folklorama, your passport to the world, gets under way on August 5.

Now in its 43rd season, Folklorama is bigger than ever with 43 pavilions. "How could you not get bigger when you have wonderful food, wonderful culture, wonderful people and wonderful entertainment?" enthuses Dr. Rayleen De Luca, president of the board of Folklorama.

New this year is the Indigenous Mardi Gras Pavilion highlighting culture from both Manitoba First Nations and the Mardi Gras Indians from Louisiana. "I saw a sample of their show at the Fringe and they're phenomenal," says Daniel Hidalgo, adult male ambassador for the Africa/Caribbean Pavilion. "It's very modern, mixed in with their traditional dancing and singing. I'm very excited to see them."

"It's all about celebrating diversity and appreciating differences and recognizing similarities," says RosemarieTodaschuk, a local singer who will be performing at the Ukraine-Kyiv Pavilion. Each pavilion features a range of musical and dance entertainment, cultural displays, and of course typical food, from perogies to empanadas to samosas.

Local performers include the Viva Capoeira dancers (Brazilian), Clyde Heerah and the Paradize Band (Africa/Caribbean), McConnell dancers (Ireland-Irish), L'Ensemble Folklorique de la Rivière-Rouge (canadien-français), the Chai Folk Ensemble (Israel) and many, many more.

A number of pavilions, including the Brazilian, Chilean, Indo-Caribbean, German and Warsaw Poland, have late night parties, so you can kick up your heels into the wee hours.

Folklorama runs from August 5-18.