Big crowds greet new pavilions

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/02/2012 (5174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One night into the Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival and two new attractions have already proven popular.

Within minutes of opening on Thursday evening, the hall at St. Matthews Church was filling up and there was a long line to get into the U.S.A. pavilion.

“It’s crazy, everybody came at once,” said John Scott, secretary for the Brandon Folk, Music and Arts Society which hosts the pavilion that honours our neighbours to the south.

The church hall, at 403 13th St., is adorned with red, white and blue bunting and, of course, the Stars and Stripes. Visitors are also greeted by a photograph of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Visitors can enjoy such southern U.S. fare as biscuits and gravy, barbecue ribs and apple pie and washed it down with Samuel Adams beer or bourbon.

The U.S.A. pavilion was created as a way to celebrate folk music which has its roots in the U.S. Local blues and folk performers will be featured among the entertainment.

“We’ve tried to build the pavilion around the traditional folk music sound,” Scott said.

There are a number of Americans involved in the pavilion, including Scott’s wife, Nadine Fort, a Minnesotan who moved to Canada in 1982 and settled in Brandon 12 years ago.

“There’s lots more Americans than you would guess,” Fort said of Brandon, adding she just wants visitors to have fun. “Enjoy the music, enjoy the food.”

At the UFCW Training Hall at 530 Richmond Ave. East, about 100 visitors had already entered the Mauritius pavilion by the time the festival entered its first hour.

Judging by the red, blue, yellow and green flag and the pictures of the traditional costumes and scenery mounted on the hall’s walls, the island nation which lies off the southern tip of Africa is a colourful one.

Many Mauritians came here in 2008 to work at Maple Leaf Foods and there are currently about 200 who live and work in Brandon.

Mauritius was one of the nations represented at the fair in the Global Village last year, but this year they decided to branch out for the first time with a pavilion of their own.

Guests can sample dishes such as chicken curry and roti (a flatbread). Visitors can also enjoy seggae music and dancers in traditional dresses.

For Marie Ironstand, the pavilion is a way for locals to learn about her home nation.

“A lot of people, they don’t even know there’s an island named Mauritius in the Indian Ocean,” Ironstand said. “A lot of people are curious so they just go on the Internet, but it’s better to see what is Mauritius, see the flags, see the pictures and see the instruments and the people … then you can have a better idea.”

Brandonite Fernanda Black said she has a tenant who is from Mauritius, and that’s part of the reason she decided to check out the new pavilion.

“It’s interesting,” Black said as she listened to music and studied the colourful photos of the country’s costumes, markets and tropical landscape. “Their music is different … their culture is quite unique.”

The Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival will continue through to Saturday night.

» ihitchen@brandonsun.com