National Multicultural Festival | |
---|---|
Date(s) | February |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | Canberra, Australia |
Inaugurated | 1981 |
Attendance | 260,000 (2013 estimated)[1][2] |
Website | multiculturalfestival |
The National Multicultural Festival is a free community festival held annually each February in Canberra, Australia.
The first festival celebrating cultural diversity was held in 1981 as a one-day event on Australia Day hosted by the ACT Ethnic Communities Council.
In 1996 the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra officially came into being. It began as a nod to the Capital's expanding cityscape, populated by young families with links across the globe, and blossomed throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to an event reflecting the more than 170 unique nationalities that comprise our population. The festival has become one of the most successful multicultural festivals in Australia. The festival is held over three days during February each year.
The Festival is supported by the ACT Government and is administered by the Community Participation Group, Multicultural Affairs, a division of the ACT Government Community Services Directorate.