16 July 2025

All the popular ingredients are coming together for Wagga's multicultural feast

| By Erin Hee
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a person serving street food at a festival stall

The call has gone out to performers and street-food and drink vendors to submit an expression of interest for FUSION BOTANICAL 2025. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council.

Wagga Wagga City Council and its long-term cultural partner, the Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga, are inviting local performers and vendors to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for FUSION BOTANICAL 2025. The EOI closing date is 15 August.

The Wagga Aus-Sri Lanka Cultural Association (WASCA) has been introducing Sri Lankan food and culture to FUSION BOTANICAL in the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens since the event started in 2011. The group plans to continue promoting Sri Lanka when the festival returns in October.

WASCA treasurer Sampath Hathurusinghe said boothing at FUSION’s World Food Village was the non-profit organisation’s main method of funding its activities.

“Throughout the year, we do cultural events to promote our culture to locals,” he said.

“In December, we do a Sri Lankan cultural show. And in April, we do Sri Lankan New Year.

“We do donations, like contributing to drought season. We provided water, dry goods and clothes and everything. And the donations we collect, we mostly fund from this event.

“So this year we already plan to have a stall in FUSION.

“The festival actually is a great support to introduce our own cultural foods, and the Sri Lankan street food, to the locals, and also for other nations.”

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This year, WASCA members will sell traditional foods such as Sri Lankan chicken fried rice, Kottu (chopped roti bread mixed with a meat curry dish, scrambled eggs and other vegetables), beef rolls with a vegetarian option containing chickpeas, fish balls, and dhal balls (Parippu Vada).

“The Sri Lankan flavours are really famous among the locals,” Mr Hathurusinghe said.

“It’s a great opportunity for other cultures to get together as well.

“So even locals, even us, we go and enjoy other countries’ stalls.”

Wagga City Council director of community services Janice Summerhayes said this year’s festival was again expected to be well received and draw crowds from across the Riverina this spring.

“The FUSION festival has grown to become a highlight on the regional events calendar since its inception in 2011,” she said.

“There is an opportunity to add your traditional cuisine to the food line-up by submitting your expression of interest.

“We are also looking for community performers to help add to the vibrant festival atmosphere.”

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Aside from WASCA’s Sri Lankan food, festival-goers can look forward to trying a variety of authentic and modern street-style food from other cultures.

FUSION BOTANICAL received a one-off $125,000 boost from the 2024/25 Stronger Together Local Council Major Festival Grant program through Multicultural NSW. This will be used to fund event traffic control management, attract national headline acts and develop multicultural media promotions.

Expressions of interest close at 5 pm on 15 August. To keep up to date with announcements for FUSION BOTANICAL, visit the website or like the FUSION Multicultural Festival Facebook and Instagram pages.

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