February 21st recognizes the rare instance in history when people sacrificed their lives for the right to speak in their mother tongue. This year, Harmony, Cultural Research and Exchange Forum, chose to celebrate International Mother Language Day with the 2019, “Multinational Mother Language Fest” (MMLF).
Including 20 countries and more than 25 mother languages, countries from across the world gathered in Windsor’s Caboto Club. The Nigerian Canadians for Cultural, Educational and Economic Progress (NCCEEP) and Omoluabi Newspaper were proud to be one of the sponsors for the event and had the opportunity to showcase Nigeria with a performance.
A ‘Nigerian Moon Light Story’, was presented first in English by Abiola Afolabi and followed in Yoruba by Pastor O. Afolabi. The iridescent background set the stage visually and the crowd was encouraged to sing along to the beat of the drums played by Kolawole Akinbinu. NCCEEP offered a variety of traditional food for sale including puff puff, jollof rice, pepper soup and zobo drink.
Countries including Poland, Nepal, China, and the Philippines displayed their cultures through a variety of art forms such as song, dance and storytelling. Attendees can look forward to enjoying the festivities again as Harmony plans on celebrating MMLF every year in Windsor!
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