Multicultural event back for spring

LODDON Campaspe Multicultural Services’ Zinda Multicultural Festival is back for another year, showcasing performances, items, food, and more by local communities.  

This year, the event will feature 20 group performances, including the Chinese Lion Dancers, Bollywood costume and dance, Hazaragi poetry, Karen bamboo dance, Afghan pop contest winner Navid Forogh, band Son Cuba, Indonesian gamelan music and more. 

“Lots on stage, lots in terms of kids’ inclusivity activities,” said Zinda event manager Jason Newton. 

Along with the performances, there will be clothing for sale, henna, facepainting, hair braiding, drumming workshop and more, and traditional cuisine from different countries. 

The City of Greater Bendigo has appointed four ambassadors for the event, and “the four faces of Zinda,” who will be acting as MCs on the day and running interactive games for the crowd. 

The cultural ambassadors for this year are Maha Sein, Thaera O’Brien, Eunmi Cho, and Marlissa Theresia. 

While the event is free due to sponsorship, Mr Newton said all donations and money raised from Zinda t-shirt sales will go to Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services for its food care program. 

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the last 12 months, we’ve gone from 15 families to 64 families so it’s a pretty bit issue,” he said. 

“We’re just kind of looking at ways where we can assist that and community members and families that are in need.” 

Zinda Multicultural Festival will be at Garden for the Future on 7 October from 11am to 4pm.