The Malton Community Festival takes this weekend at Malton Community Centre and Lincoln Alexander Secondary School.
All Mississauga residents are welcome, says festival chair Michael Hanna, who was at City Council recently to extend the invitation. He also used the occasion to boost Malton.
“The greatness of Malton right now, in a lot of ways, is just sitting there as unrealized potential — and what the festival is doing is bringing the community together, giving them an opportunity for expression so that untapped potential can be realized,” Hanna said.
For instance, he said, one of the highlights is a seminar called Wired for Success, designed to help people bring their dreams and vision to life.
But the focus, says Hanna, is bringing together all cultures under one roof. Last year, the event involved some 80 organizations and attracted more than 2,500 people.
“The true vision of the festival is unity, diversity and destiny,” he said.
Last year’s budget was a shoestring $7,000. So far this year, organizers have raised close to $25,000, including $19,000 from United Way of Peel and several thousand dollars from the City of Mississauga. Sponsors have also climbed on board.
Ward 5 City councillor Eve Adams, who was instrumental in getting the festival the City grant, says the event is about getting to know your neighbours.
“That’s the big thing,” she said. “Too often, we’re strangers in the neighbourhood ...we need to go out there and make sure those strangers are no longer strangers — that they become our friends."
Activities, all of which are free, include a barbecue, live entertainment, community and health displays, reptilia show, nature trail walk, games for children, Kabaddi demonstration and iPod giveaways. There’s also a peace march set for Sunday, starting from Lincoln Alexander at 12:30 p.m.
“This year, we’ve got our first-ever Youth Talent Show to give young people an opportunity to express their gifts and talents in a positive way that benefits the community,” said Hanna.
“Also, for the first time, our marketing is done in multiple languages under the catch-phrase, ‘Together We Make Malton Great.’”
The festival runs 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 12:30-5 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, visit www.maltoncommunityfestival.com.
The Malton Community Festival started in 1976 as a one-day spring event operating out of Wildwood Park. It continued to operate annually until 1995, at which point volunteers were difficult to find to sustain the event. Mayor Hazel McCallion is credited with renewing the festival after she hosted a town hall meeting in 2003.
Hanna says the festival has come a long way in the past few years, but organizers aren’t resting on their laurels.
“We’ll be satisfied when the Malton community has a 100 per cent positive sense of self-identity that is contagiously spreading to other communities. We intend to make Malton an example for other communities to follow.”
jchin@mississauga.net
