Surrey Fusion Festival 2012: Photos

The 5th annual Surrey Fusion Festival is taking place this weekend in Holland Park with over 30 cultural pavilions, entertainment and food alongside international bands, local chefs, and dance teams.

Arriving on scene on Saturday the site looked larger than previous years with an expanded Flavours of Surrey area with the Safeway Celebrity Cooking Stage, the heritage and agriculture section with tents, the World Sports Zone, activities, and dairy demos, and more. The sun was shining and the grass was drying from recent rain showers. The clouds parted and presented a perfect day in the park with a different drum beat to be heard around every corner.

Children played in a giant sandbox, made crafts and hats, got their faces painted, and danced to cultural beats. Parents and little ones alike enjoyed treats from cotton candy and mangos to empanadas, butter chicken, kebabs, and cannolis.

The smell of hot charcoal wafted through the rows of tents as generous line-ups formed in front of the Columbia, India, and Jamaica pavilions. As with every other year, vendors accepted tickets that could be purchased at specific stations throughout the park. Most meals and beverages cost between two and eight tickets (a ticket is $1 to purchase). We scooped up a large smoothie from the Polynesia tent for 5 tickets and a chocolate croissant from France for 2 tickets.

The parade of nations took place around 4:30pm between two main stages, winding through the pavilions along the way. Consul Generals from several nations were present including Ghana, Italy, India, and the Ukraine.

Musical acts from Surrey, Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, BC, and the world took to either the Desjardins Financial Security Cultural Community Stage, the Chevron Community Stage, the Coast Capital Savings Celebration Stage, and the Concord Pacific World Music Stage.

The festivities pick up again today starting at 11:00am and the first performance on stage at 11:30am. Don’t miss another full day of steel drumming, bhangra, hip hop, and much more all for free. Attractions on the second and final day of the Fusion Festival include more cooking demonstrations, and performances from Mostly Marley, Good for Grapes and Los Lobos with the grande finale at 9:00pm.

Holland Park is located on Old Yale Road between University Drive and King George Blvd. It’s accessible from Surrey Central or King George SkyTrain stations as well.

All photos in this post are by John Bollwitt for Miss604.com and are available is his Flickr set. Miss604.com is a proud sponsor of Surrey Fusion Festival.