Refugee Week 2023 Family Day a success for Multicultural Council

But as an increasingly multicultural country, events like Multicultural Council of Wagga's Family Day are catering for all tastes and traditions.

As well as 1000 sausages and 500 chicken rissoles, the Refugee Week event served cultural foods, courtesy of our newest refugee residents.

Biryani, courtesy of Wagga's Yazidi community, and glass noodles, courtesy of Burmese resident, offered a taste of places beyond the borders of Australia.

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CEO of Multicultural Council of Wagga Belinda Crain said it was about making sure refugees, and people from the wider community felt welcome.

"This is our big annual celebration where people have come from refugee or humanitarian backgrounds as well as the broader community come together to celebrate them actually being in Australia and the contribution they make to our community," she said.

"Yesterday, we had a beautiful barbecue done for us by Rotary, who have been doing it for 10 years ... It was a big feat for the barbecues to cook."

While food acts as a drawcard to bring people together, Family Day kept them together, by sharing broader elements of culture - Australian and international.

Small things people who haven't grown up in Australia may not consider - like the police being a trustworthy organisation - are addressed by having the police on site, available to talk to people. Children were introduced to rites of passage for Australian children - jumping castles, and a ride on the back of a dirtbike.

Refugee groups introduced Australians to their own cultural practices - song, dance, and dress. Ms Craine said it was wonderful to see members of the wider community and the refugee together, and in high spirits

"We had people from Burundi, the Yazidi community do cultural performances, and the Tibetan community did a couple of traditional songs and dance numbers," she said.

"I was really pleased to see members of the broader community come along, and just get that exposure to people from other cultures.

"It's so great to see the children playing with all the other kids, just having a great time."

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