Festival frenzy: Jam-packed crowds at St. John's summer events
Festival season is in full swing in St. John's, with the N.L. Folk Festival and the Refugee Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC) Summer Cultural Festival among the highlights this weekend.
Diversity, musical performances, and sunny weather big draw for festivals
Una Carnell (left) and Nadia Porter are 10 years old and enjoying their time at the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival. Porter says her favourite thing so far has been eating pretzels and snowcones! (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
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Festival season is in full swing in St. John's this weekend, with the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival and the Refugee Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC) Summer Cultural Festival among the highlights.
On Saturday, many families and music enthusiasts made their way out for both events, and CBC NL was on hand for the action.
N.L. Folk Festival
Adrian House (left) and Kyle Mooney performed in the francophone tent on Saturday. The N.L. Folk Festival makes space for French speaking performers, something both Howse and Mooney say they appreciate. They performed a traditional Newfoundland song called Vingt Cinq of July. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Three boys climb onto the security gates as Morgan Davis performs. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Despite living in Conception Bay South, Jane Smith Parsons and Craig Parsons had never been to the N.L. Folk Festival until this weekend. Both of them say they've been enjoying everything Newfoundland and Labrador's music scene has to offer. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
The 42nd edition of the N.L. Folk Festival is taking place in Bannerman Park this weekend. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Saturday afternoon at the festival was a real family affair. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Summer Cultural Festival
From left to right: Mother and daughter Suad Mahmood and Safwa Mahmood, and cousin Danya Almajeed. All three women immigrated to Canada from Iraq and were selling samosas and other food at the festival. Safwa Mahmood says when she first came to Canada six years ago, conversation classes at RIAC helped her become fluent in English. "They have helped us bring my family here ... and they made me cry tears of joy." She's 17 years old and attends Holy Heart of Mary High School in St. John's. After graduating, she plans to become a lawyer. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
A young boy feeds the swans at Bowring Park on Saturday. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Taqwa Mahmood, originally from Palestine, poses next to a piece of her artwork (first on left). She's sold many pieces through RIAC's art gallery located at 50 Harbour Drive. "The main thing that it did to me is it gave me a chance to display my art to the public," she said. "One of the things I try to do when I paint is I don't necessarily think of a deep meaning or anything like that, I just try to paint something that is beautiful and a great sight to the eyes." (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
The Summer Cultural Festival featured musical performances all day long. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
From left to right: Joseph Nguyen, Tracey Osevwe, and Larry Gong. Nguyen is from Vietnam, and says RIAC has helped him find a sense of community in St. John's. "When you move to Newfoundland and you're alone, when you're new here you don't have a lot of friends," he said. "So RIAC have made you connect with so many people and have made me expand my network and create a life for me in Newfoundland." (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Lejla Elezovic, from Bosnia, is helping out with Radio RIAC, a new radio show on CHMR in St. John's. She's hoping to gather stories to share with the immigrant community in the city. "I just want to get people to know what we're about, what kind of events we do like these, and just get more people involved." (Lejla Elezovic/CBC)
Also happening this weekend is the St. John's Busker Festival, and the rescheduled Lantern Festival at Victoria Park.
