Flags flying high at Bunbury’s multicultural festival

Bunbury’s Bicentennial Square was coloured by culture on Saturday as thousands turned up to celebrate the South West Multicultural Festival.

Now in its 14th year, the annual event focuses on building bridges and creating harmony within the larger community.

Bunbury Multicultural Group chairwoman Shamara Williams said it was great to see so many people immersing themselves in different cultures.

“Each year the event grows and gets better and better,” Ms Williams said. “This year saw the addition of the experience zone which was a huge success.

“People were really getting into the activities, trying on various cultural gowns like sarees and kimonos, the whole tent had such a good buzz.”

As well as the experience zone there were more than 20 food trucks with international eats on offer from shakshuka to Chilean street food and Italian gelato for a sweet treat.

“The festival has changed from being purely performance-based to now including activities and food stalls for everyone to enjoy,” she said.

The flag parade included international flags from 46 different countries and a representative from each of those countries.

“We started the flag parade a few years ago and this year was our most successful,” Ms Williams said.

“The final performance by Soukouss International was the perfect way to end the night.

“The group managed to get the crowd up and dancing on their feet, it was just brilliant.”