Members of the Wagga Aus-Sri Lanka Cultural Association. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga’s Sri Lankan Community is gearing up for a cultural showcase, sharing traditional food, dance and song with their adopted home in the Riverina.
Wagga Aus-Sri Lanka Cultural Association’s Yapa Bandara has lived in Wagga for 20 years and said it was an important event for the region’s small but growing community.
“One of the things that we miss is that participation in cultural events back home and so we need to carry on these things so that our kids are exposed to them,” he said.
“We have been having this kind of gathering and a cultural show since 2012 and it’s a chance for the children and others to perform on stage with singing, dancing, drama and those sorts of things.”
The Wagga Wagga Sinhala School is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a place where children from a Sinhalese background can learn the language and remain connected to culture.
“We started a community language school in 2014 and it is still going on and of course we are celebrating the milestone this year,” Yapa said.
“We have about 20 students at the moment and we participate in two major events organised by the umbrella organisation of the Sinhalese Cultural Forum in Sydney.
“Every year they have concerts and other events where they display the culture and the traditions and the history of Sri Lanka and our children go to Sydney to perform on stage.”
Wagga students competed at a Sinhalese Cultural Forum event in Sydney in October. Photo: Sinhalese Cultural Forum of NSW.
Yapa said that, like Australia, Sri Lanka was a multicultural country and the event included members of the Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist communities, as well as representatives from other local ethnic groups and local dignitaries.
“This year the mayor and the MP for Wagga Wagga will be there, and a representative from the Sri Lanka High Commission, and we will have other members in the Sri Lankan community coming from Griffith, Narrandera, Leeton, Temora and Junee,” he said.
“We are getting some support from the Wagga Wagga City Council under a community grant scheme, therefore, this year, it will be larger and open to the other multicultural communities here.
“It will be a wonderful event and something that we like to share with Wagga.”
For the first time, the event includes a dinner dance and a chance to sample traditional curries, samboul, hoppers and more.
The event kicks off at the Kildare Catholic College from 4:30 pm on Saturday and you can book a ticket via the Wagga Aus-Sri Lanka Cultural Association.
Loading ...
