THE BLOOM IS BACK FOR WELLAND ROSE FESTIVAL

DAYS IN THE PARK EVENT TO FEATURE MULTICULTURAL PERFORMERS

The bloom is back on for the Welland Rose Festival.

Halted for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced to one weekend in 2022, the monthlong version of the venerable event is back for 2023, highlighted by the threeday celebration Days in the Park taking place Friday, June 16 to Sunday, June 18 at Merritt Park.

A component of the celebration will be multicultural presentations by local groups on Saturday, June 17. It is the first time since 2019, when the Welland

Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre (WHCMC) first brought in multicultural performers, that they will be a part of the event.

"We received a bit of funding from Canadian Heritage," said Lori Webster, WHCMC's lead for the Niagara Foreign Credential Recognition/Labour Market Orientation programs, adding that the cultural presentations will also feature an Indigenous component to mark National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.

"There will be Indigenous performances as well as the other cultural groups throughout Merritt Park," Webster said.

Patti Goodfield, who is co-ordinator for the Days in the Park event, said visitors will be able to browse

numerous crafters and vendors who'll be in the park.

"There is something for everyone," she said.

There will be live entertainment provided by The Cocktails and Sunset Rebels at the Friday night street dance, which for

2023 has been rolled in with Days in the Park. Musical performances by South River Slim and Brass Transit will be followed by fireworks on Saturday, while on Sunday, The Chimps will perform at the Grande Parade after party.

"The parade comes right by the park," Goodfield said.

Webster, meanwhile, said the multicultural performers, which include the Niagara Multi-Folk-Arts Song & Dance Ensemble (Chinese music and dance) at 1 p.m., Tara's School of Highland (Scottish) Dance at 2 p.m. and Ukrainian arts group Lingua Vaudeville at 3 p.m.

"It's an opportunity to share their culture with the community," she said. "They haven't been able to do that because COVID closed venues for the past few years. They can't wait to perform."

Days in the Park and the Grande Parade are just a few of the events happening throughout June. A complete schedule of events can be found at wellandrosefestival.com.