Dufferin County Multicultural Day celebrated at MoD

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

From steel pan drumming to dancing, food and artwork, the Dufferin County Multicultural Day Event made a return with a bang this past weekend. 

The Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation and the Museum of Dufferin (MoD) hosted the Fifth Annual Dufferin County Multicultural Day Event on June 11, celebrating the diversity within the community. 

“It's incredibly humbling experience every time. As much as I host these events, when I actually attend and see how we come together it's honestly so exciting,” said Althea Alli, founder and president of the Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation. “You can see everyone coming together and lifting each other up and how happy everyone is.” 

Before the Multicultural Day festivities began the celebration kicked off with a few words from local dignitaries and the raising of the Multicultural Day Flag. 

“We have a lot to celebrate in Dufferin County,” said Wade Mills, Warden for
the County. 

“We are, I think it's fair to say, one of the most successful multicultural communities within the province of Ontario, and we became that fairly quickly. What we've been able to accomplish as a county community, I think is nothing short of remarkable.” 

The Dufferin County Multicultural Day Event was first organized 2018 and held in the Shelburne Public Library. Alli said the idea for the event came from her own experience moving to the community in 2013 and the gap she witnessed for diverse families. 

“It started at my kitchen table with the idea of what can I do to help the community, how am I going to make Dufferin my home and a home for everyone else,”
said Alli. 

The event quickly outgrew its original location, moving to the Centre Dufferin District (CDDHS) cafeteria in 2019. The event was recently established as a not-for-profit, known as the Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation (DCMF). 

For two years the Dufferin County Multicultural Day Event has been held virtually in partnership with the MoD.