Canberra National Multicultural Festival 2015

A kaleidoscope of colours, sounds, sights, flavors  transform Canberra from a quiet and rather sedate town to an exciting and vibrant  City when the National Multicultural Festival unfolds in the city centre . With daily Entertainment over six stages ,representation from over 60 Embassies & Consulates , food stalls from hundreds of regions of the world, handcrafts and presentations from many cultures melting together in the city center. 

I had flown up to Canberra on friday afternoon to meet the Inka Marka guys who were performing at the festival . They had driven up from Melbourne earlier in the week , to rehearse and meet up with Andy the singer from Los Chavos, to organize a spectacular opening for the festival on Saturday evening on Stage 1, the main stage for Entertainment at this years Multicultural festival. 

The performance was great. Inka Marka & Los Chavos opened the night with a traditional tune called Sariri Paya Video  Click the link to see the video . Los Chavos are a very talented Ska, Reggae,Folk, Big Ban fronted by Bolivian singer songwriter Andy Jaregui .

The Inka Marka guys  were set up on a small side stage area just before the famous Justice Crew and warmed up the crowd with a few tunes.

The evening started off with some Samoan dancers. They were as exotic as they were talented. 

Next came a group made up from people from many Pacific nations, Including New Zealand, Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, to name but a few. 

The New Zealanders were not to be out done. They greeted the crowd with a fierceness that was both scary and intriguing.

The next day, the Inka marka guys who were invited back to perform at the festival , were set up on a small stage area near the carousel, a popular meeting point in Canberra's city center. Who should we see but our Ecuadorean friend Eduarado who lives in Bathurst, but was down to add support to the small Ecuadorean community in the ACT. We spied him in the crowd of people who were being entertained by Inka Marka. 

After a few hours of music, shopping, and catching up with friends, it was time for lunch.
The trouble was that there was way too much to choose from. The Paella looked amazing, but a little awkward to eat as I wandered around the city center taking in the sights and smells.

The Turkish Gozleme was also inviting. The long windy queue was a testament to its popularity. This young man was cutting them up as fast as they came off the grill. I decided that the spinach & fetta cheese was just too good to resist. This stall had their own secret touch. They crisped the dough on one side, and then on the softer side they drizzled olive all and a few basil leaves. 

Not sure if these ladies were this guys mum aunties, and sister. They certainly seemed to enjoy their cooking session.


This certainly seemed to be a family affair. 

I was so hungry that the Gozleme  didn't even hit the sides.

The next culture that caught my eyes, and my taste buds was the Peruvians cafes.

There were several. What to choose?                             

There were spicy chicken wings, Anticuchos, and more...

In the end I settled for a Pork Chicharon roll with Spicy rocotto sauce, and Pilsner chaser. 

It was delicious. 

Enjoying my roll and beer in the park with my friend Aline whilst watching some African dancers .

The next thing we spied was a Dragon , He decided to do a bit of a dance to the Andean tunes.!