On Sunday June 27, 2021 it is National Multiculturalism Day and STELIP has created a few ways for you to celebrate and acknowledge the culture all throughout St. Thomas & Elgin County throughout the weekend.
24-hour Local Multiculturalism Celebration Guide
Start your day with a land acknowledgement. It is important to acknowledge the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the First Nations on which we are learning, working and living on today. Discover the Indigenous Peoples who traditionally inhabited the land in your area.
5:48 am – Wake up with the sun and practice yoga. Although the origins of yoga aren’t exactly known, most believe it was created more than 5000-10000 years ago and was first practiced in India. Since then, it has enriched the lives of many people and is practiced all over the world. In 2016 Elgin County had 145 immigrants from India and 115 in St. Thomas.
10 am – Visit the memorial of a visitor from Sudan.
Did you know? Jumbo the Elephant was born in Sudan, Africa. From there he was exported to a zoo in Paris, France and then to a zoo in London, England before making his way to the United States for exhibition in March 1882. While you take in the magnifigance of the Jumbo statue, reflect on his journey around the world and how he came to our city for his last stop.
11am – 1pm – Pick up your preordered Multicultural meal from Salt and Pepper Meals with all recipes from the From There to Here cookbook and contributed by immigrants who know live in St. Thomas & Elgin County.
Pick up location 1657 Ross St. between 11-1pm. *Order before Wednesday, June 23rd.
1 pm – Take a short drive to the outskirts of Elgin County to enjoy the rich culture of our neighbours. Acknowledge the rich multiculturalism around you on your drive with the vast farm lands which welcome and employ around 1000 agricultural Temporary Foreign Workers each year and many individuals from the Low German Speaking Mennonite Community. It is estimated that over 12,000 LGS Mennonites reside in Elgin County.
View the incredible Barn Quilt Trail (2 options Settlement Stories & Barn Quilt):
Indian Trail – 33280 Fingal Line, Fingal, ON
(west) Irish Star – 29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(east) Rippling Waters – 47972 Rush Creek Line, Aylmer, ON
Did you know? The Township of Malahide was named after Colonel Talbot’s ancestral castle in Ireland.
3 pm – Visit Springwater Conservation Area and enjoy the beauty of the Carolinian Forest that was brought to our area from Georgia during the ice age. Carolinian species such as American sweet chestnut, paw paw, white mulberry, blue ash, heart nut, sassafras can be found throughout the beautiful trails.
5 pm – Try some authentic cultural fare at our many local ethnic restaurants. Our Global Flavours event in February highlighted these international restaurants and business owners in our community.
Did you know? – Samuel Eccles who is buried at the Old St. Thomas Church graveyard came to Canada from Ireland via New York City. He had managed a brewery in New York and decided to go into business for himself. Mr. Eccles opened a brewery in London and took on a junior partner who was a local farmer. After teaching this man the business, Mr. Eccles sold the business to his partner because he saw no long-term profit in the trade. This junior partner, named John Labatt, did very well.
8 pm – End the night with some global music without curated Spotify Culture Lives Here playlist
