Montreal, Thursday, May 11, 2017 — In this year of celebrations around Canada 150, the FrancoFolies de Montreal proudly present the event Fêtons notre diversité (Celebrate Our Diversity)! On June 27, 2017, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, festival fans from every background are invited to assemble on the Parterre symphonique from 2 p.m. to midnight to enjoy a Gigantic BBQ while attending concerts and dance performances by tons of the finest cultural ambassadors from our local communities! This very special event is scheduled outside the official run of the 29th edition of the FrancoFolies de Montréal, presented June 8 to 18 by Bell in collaboration with Ford of Canada.
“During this year of Canada 150 celebrations, Canadian Multiculturalism Day is set to be even bigger than ever! Canada is strong in its diversity, and this day is a unique opportunity to reflect on the role that diversity plays in our society. I invite Montrealers and visitors alike to celebrate this cultural diversity, which enriches us all and enhances the attraction of our beautiful city.” — The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage
Of course, it’s an elemental part of the Francos DNA to celebrate diversity in all its forms: since the eventbegan, the Francos have made it a point of honour to fill its stages with artists from literally everywhere. This 2017 edition is no exception: in addition to our many European guests, you’ll discover Lebanese-Swiss rapper La Gale, Belgian-Congolese modern pop artist Témé Tan, multilingual Central African singer Laetitia Zonzambé and Guinean-Senegalese-Parisian rapper MHD, to mention but a few.
The Fêtons notre diversité ! event also reflects that philosophy, assembling many artists from the cultural communities of our city, a pluralist and inclusive metropolis blessed with a wealth of immense diversity. On the Parterre symphonique (corner Clark and De Montigny), everyone can bring their own food and use our barbecues, while darboukas, djembes and tam-tams will keep the grooves moving while multicoloured traditional costumes enliven 5 concerts and 4 dance performances, presented from 2 p.m. to midnight, for a total of 10 hours of rhythm and excitement! The concerts involve the participation of festivals friends (Vision Diversité, the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique de Montréal and Mundial Montréal), while the dance performances will be presented in collaboration with Mondial des Cultures de Drummondville.
Fêtons notre diversité ! is even more crucially symbolic given it arrives during this year of festivities for Canada 150: yet another great reason to come together and remind one another how good it is to live in a country built upon respect for differences and diversity, where the social mix is a source of great shared pride.
This event, unique in its genre and a preview of Les Francos, will be the perfect opportunity for each one of us to set off on a trip around the world, right here in the heart of our downtown core!
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