General News
1 April, 2025
Melting pot of cultures to be celebrated at Harmony Festival
People from different cultures will come together early next month with the Grampians Multicultural Hub hosting its second annual Harmony Day Festival on Saturday, April 5.
People from different cultures will come together early next month with the Grampians Multicultural Hub hosting its second annual Harmony Day Festival on Saturday, April 5.
The event at Stawell Town Hall promises to be a vibrant celebration of the rich cultural diversity of the Stawell community.
Secretary of the Grampians Multicultural Hub, Sepe Illig, said the festival is a late celebration of Harmony Week and Multicultural Diversity Week.
Another member of the group, Cheryl Grambau mentioned Stawell is a growing community, using Thomas Foods and Grampians Health as examples of local businesses hiring large numbers of people from different cultural backgrounds.
“This whole infrastructure is expanding Stawell into a melting pot of different cultures from all over the world,” said Ms Grambau.
In addition to the cultures being brought to Stawell by the town’s large employers, many residents from around the world came to Stawell at its beginnings during Victoria’s gold rush, as well as the first nations cultures that have been in the area for thousands of years.
Ms Illig said the Grampians Multicultural Hub is a group of passionate people who come together to organise events and celebrate its members’ different cultures.
“It’s about connecting with your community and involving anyone else from the community who wants to be involved,” Ms Illig said.
In 2024, the group organised its first Harmony Festival and had over 300 people attend.
Last year’s festival had 14 different types of food displayed, and eight different cultures performing.
Junior Issachar is organising the performances for the festival in 2025 and is putting together a diverse list of acts.
“We have a group of Pacific Islanders, I'm a Pacific Islander myself, and my group is the Vanuatu community group in Stawell," Mr Issachar said.
“We do a lot of shows, especially showcasing our tradition and culture to the local community here.”
Mr Issachar and the group is also organising for groups of people from the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Timor Leste, East Asia, the Philippines, and Africa to showcase their culture at the festival.
The 2025 festival is also bringing interest from further-a-field than the organisers expected, with Timor Leste groups from Warrnambool, Springvale and Colac also wanting to get involved.