2016 Carrousel of Nations, Fusion of Culture Festival June 11 and June 12th
In the beginning, way back in June 1974, The Arts Committee of Windsor, along with a $3,500 grant from the Ministry of Culture and Recreation, presented Windsor’s 1st ever Multicultural Festival. Twenty-seven groups participated at St. Clair College’s Patterson Campus offering three days of folk arts, crafts and food.
A concert at the Cleary Auditorium was held as the weekend’s finale featuring eighteen groups performing to an audience of over 800. The festival was regarded as a success and has since become the inspiration for Carrousel of the Nations.
In 1975, with co-operation from the International Freedom Festival, a downtown bazaar was held in the Cleary Auditorium parking lot consisting of fourteen ethnic food booths along with a large exhibit of cultural artifacts which was displayed in the Cleary Skyline Room.
1976 welcomed a cultural grants program announced by the Ontario Government, inviting all groups to submit proposals for “Cultural Olympics.” Formal planning began in February 1976 by designating the weekend of June 18th and confirming the concept of separate villages.
Every year since then, there are events leading up to Carrousel and during the second, third and fourth weekends in June, Carrousel of the Nations takes place.
In 1999 an Expo to the World was held at Windsor’s Festival Plaza site on the riverfront. This event gathered together the ethno-food, music, dance, arts and crafts all in one place, giving birth to Expo by the River — a preview to Carrousel of Nations. Carrousel of Nations celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2005 by changing the name from “Expo” to “Carrousel by the River” thereby joining the two events.
Video: Kathleen Thomas, Patricia Crichton, Remo Agostino, Jody Raffoul.
JODY RAFFOUL may originally be from a small town in Southern Ontario, but his diverse career as a working class pop-rock singer/songwriter has continued to put him in the spotlight in the United States.
Already a reliable “critic’s pick” in the Detroit region, Jody performs over 200 shows a year and has opened for: Collective Soul, Kid Rock, Nickelback, Joe Cocker, Blues Traveler, Richard Marx, Counting Crows, The Allman Brothers Band, Uncle Kracker, John Entwhistle, Chris Isaak, Paul Rodgers and most recently Bon Jovi.
At home in a small club or the big stage, his signature voice and compassionate stage presence has been described as a hybrid mix of Bono and Bruce Springsteen making every performance unique which is what helped Jody to become the National WINNER of the 2006 Bon Jovi “Have a Nice Gig” Contest, hand-picked and announced personally by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
He went on to open a sold out show at Giant’s Stadium in Bon Jovi’s home state, New Jersey, alongside fellow Canadians, Nickelback.
Be sure to check out the Carrousel of Nations and these exciting Villages to experience their culture!
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Photo and video by Joe McParland – Biz X magazine