Mississauga’s summer of festivals kicks off with two big events this weekend
Published May 27, 2022 at 10:36 am
Mississauga is playing host to a couple of big parties celebrating various cultures this weekend.
First up, the Carassauga Festival of Cultures, in its 37th year, runs tonight through Sunday (May 27-29) at various venues across Mississauga, as usual. It’s Canada’s largest multicultural festival.
On Saturday, Mississauga Celebration Square hosts its first major festival of the season as Mississauga Polish Day welcomes people from across the city and beyond.
That event runs from noon to 11 p.m. and admission is free.
Carassauga, meanwhile, will celebrate and showcase 23 countries this year.
“Taste ethnic dishes, see cultural performances and experience multiculturalism” is the theme associated with this year’s large-scale event.
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Things get started on Friday night with the Opening Ceremony, Parade of Nations, fireworks and a musical performance. The show runs from 8 to 11 p.m. at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
The various pavilions don’t open to the public until Saturday and Sunday, starting at noon each day. Festivities run until midnight on Saturday and until 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Carassauga pavilions are set up at four locations in the city: Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Canadian Coptic Centre, Portuguese Cultural Centre of Mississauga and St. Sava Serbian Centre.
Carassauga passports cost $15, with children age 12 and under admitted free of charge.
The passport entitles the holder to:
- unlimited entry to all cultural pavilions throughout the weekend
- access to live performances, food vendors and kids’ activities
- free rides on MiWay buses during festival hours
- free rides on Carassauga shuttle buses during festival hours
- free parking at all locations
After more than two years of cancellations and virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, festival season is back in Mississauga.
The various Celebration Square events are kicked off with Saturday’s Polish Day.
Mississauga Polish Day is the city’s annual Polish cultural festival, celebrating Polish-Canadian contribution towards Canada’s rich cultural mosaic, organizers say.
“Visitors of all ages and backgrounds are invited for an authentic European experience,” they add.
Festival highlights include live performances, traditional food, beer gardens, a children’s village/play area, and art and cultural exhibits.
The first Mississauga Polish Day was held in 2015, at the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre, and the event moved to Celebration Square the following year.
It attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Looking beyond this weekend, several other festivals and Mississauga’s annual Canada Day celebration, taking place July 1, are also returning to Celebration Square in the downtown core.
“For sure…there will be Canada Day. We’re looking at all the events and there may even be fireworks (on Canada Day), and there may be some entertainment. So, that’s great news,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie said in an earlier Instagram interview with insauga.com.
“Then, there will be festivals throughout the summer as well,” added an enthused Crombie, who has been optimistic since January that Mississauga’s summer festivals would return.
Next up on the festival list is the TD Mosaic Festival, which takes place July 22-23 at the square.
Organizers say this award-winning Mississauga festival “…brings you the best of art, culture and cuisine from South Asia. The two-day, free festival will feature music, dance, folklore, Bollywood, food and shopping in the heart of Mississauga headlined by popular artists and performers from India, Pakistan, Canada and the U.S.”
Also, children can enjoy free arts and craft workshops and learn to use a pottery wheel.
Additionally, “This year’s festival will present a film segment featuring South Asian cinema in a local theatre,” organizers note.
Rock the Coliseum, the independent music component of the Mosaic Festival, will celebrate its 15th year by presenting local youth bands as well as well-known independent bands from across the province.
Mississauga Italfest, taking place Aug. 12-13, returns to the square just in time to celebrate its 10th anniversary on the festival scene.
“Experience some of Italy’s finest in the heart of Mississauga” is among the themes of this year’s festival, also a free event to attend.
Attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year, Mississauga Italfest has consistently been named one of Ontario’s top 100 festivals/events over the years.
Celebrating “the beauty of Italian heritage and culture,” organizers say this event features delicious food and crafts from a variety of vendors and artisans, cultural and family-oriented activities, entertainment from local and international talent, a thriving “mercato” (market) and more.
On Aug. 20-21, Japan Festival Canada takes over Celebration Square as the largest Japanese cultural event in North America, according to organizers.
Some 90,000 people attended the 2019 event and organizers hope to exceed that number this year.
The festival’s goal, simply stated, is to “introduce and promote genuine Japanese food, culture and technologies,” organizers say, adding after two years of hosting the festival virtually, they’re looking forward to returning to an in-person, live event in the heart of the downtown core.
Japan Festival Canada, first held in 2016, also seeks to further improve Canadian-Japanese relations, organizers note.
To that end, they add, the festival will provide “…exciting entertainment such as traditional and modern performances, pop culture stage performances, as well as delicious Japanese foods and much more.”
For more information on these and other Mississauga events, visit the City of Mississauga website.
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