Western P.E.I. celebrating its diversity

A community event tocelebratediversity in the region is planned in West Prince on Saturday .

The event, titled the Neighbour to Neighbour Festivity, was organized by the Rural Action Centre in Alberton, P.E.I., and members of the Filipino community in West Prince.

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The idea snowballed from thereto make the event open to people from various cultures already existing in West Prince, says Sean Doyle, the co-ordinator of the event.

You're definitely seeing a lot more visible minorities in the area, which is great to see. Sean Doyle

Doyle, from North Cape, said diversity in the area has been growing for some time.

"You're definitely seeing a lot more visible minorities in the area, which is great to see," he said.

"I go to St. Simon and St. Jude Church in Tignish and there's quite a large Filipino community there, so it's wonderful to see."

Planned before Tignish incident

Doyle said the event was not made in response to to the incident at the Tignish Legion last month when a Sikh man was asked to remove his turban, leading to widespread backlash and an apology from the legion.

Doyle said the event has been "in the works" since at least July, with marketing for the event beginning inJanuary.

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"I just hope there's more awareness to various cultures and nationalities that are in the area," he said.

"There's a whole range of people in the area that have very diverse backgrounds so we just really want to celebrate those backgrounds, and celebrate those differences and celebrate what we have in common."

Doyle said there will be live music, a showcase of food from different cultures as well as some activities for children.

Lt.-Gov Antoinette Perry will deliver the opening remarks.

The event runs on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 2-4p.m.at HernewoodIntermediate School.

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