Music, food and culture from nations around the world will be on display during the return of Surrey Fusion Festival this Friday and Saturday, July 23-24.
The festival was last held at Holland Park in 2019, pre-pandemic.
Admission is free at the annual event, which has been celebrated virtually over the past couple of years.
The festival’s 2022 theme “CommUNITY” will be displayed at more than 40 cultural pavilions at the park, located at King George Boulevard and Old Yale Road. The pavilions, separated alphabetically by Argentina and Zimbabwe, are run by cultural groups and organizations from across Surrey and Metro Vancouver.
This year’s headliners include Surrey-raised R&B duo Manila Grey, plus Canadian hip-hop artist Shad, Indian-Punjabi singer Sharry Mann, Surrey’s Zora Randhawa and others. Manila Grey and Shad will perform on Saturday, July 23, while Mann and Randhawa will headline on Sunday, July 24.
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Other performers at 2022 Fusion Festival include XL the Band, Babylung, Golosa La Orquesta, Balaklava Blues, Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz, Sadé Awele and Serengeti, Mattmac, Yvonne Kushe and Luv Randhawa. Check surreyfusionfestival.ca/performers for the detailed list.
“A festival like no other, Surrey Fusion Festival encourages cultural expression through inclusive programming, food, education, and connection,” says a post on the event website, surreyfusionfestival.ca, where a full schedule of events can be found.
Festival stages include World Music, Celebration, Unity, Siam, Cultural Cooking Arena, Community Dance, Global Beer and Wine Tasting, Family Fun, Storyville and Mindful Movement Space.
The festival kicks off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with a Parade of Culture, followed at 2 p.m by an Indigenous welcome and opening ceremony.
The very first Surrey Fusion Festival was staged as a three-day event in 2008 with nightly headliners Jazzy B, The Chieftains and Jully Black. Performers through the years include Arrested Development, K-OS, Los Lobos, Bedouin Soundclash, Bruce Cockburn, Maxi Priest, Nelly Furtado, Walk Off the Earth and others. Posters from each year are shown on surreyfusionfestival.ca/about/history.
Presented by Coast Capital and produced by the City of Surrey, Fusion Festival is planned with the financial support of several corporate sponsors and media partners.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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