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Last modified: 03 Nov 2020 9:37am

Sade and Shamsideen Iposu laugh with Farhad Dastgheib at the Faces of Selwyn launchHundreds enjoyed 10 days of events celebrating the many cultures in Selwyn.

For the first time the Council organised or supported 18 cultural events from martial arts to language lessons, cooking and arts, to run over 10 days around the popular CultureFest day at Lincoln Domain.

Popular events included a Kirant cultural evening, which saw 60 people enjoy food, music and dance from the Kirata culture of Nepal, while a group of 49 women attended the women’s only swim event at Selwyn Aquatic Centre.

Six instructors ran swimming lessons and an aquafit class at the evening, which attendees said gave them a sense of belonging and were keen to seen it run more regularly.

The Aquatic centre also ran a splash time, and other events included Mandarin for Beginners, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a Singaporean cooking demonstration, Tai Chi, Henna workshops, belly dancing, Highland Dancing and Chinese calligraphy.

The potluck Dinners of Selwyn evening drew 25 residents from a wide range of cultures, who brought their favourite dishes to share.

Dishes included Persian lentil rice known as Adas Polow, a Chinese cold dish of seaweed, Sri Lankan fried rice, ratatouille and a few Kiwi classics.

Simon Kouch, who arrived in Selwyn from Auckland only two weeks ago said the event was a great way for new residents to meet people. Student Eva Zhou said it was an unforgettable experience and she enjoyed meeting a range of people from different cultural and professional backgrounds.