Perfect Queensland sunshine set the scene for record crowds to attend the fourth annual Sri Lanka Day Multicultural Festival on Sunday, September 15.
More than 4000 people flocked to Rocks Riverside Park, Seventeen Mile Rocks, to savour a wide range of Sri Lankan cuisine and cultural activities. Sri Lanka Day 2024, organised by the Federation of Sri Lankan Organisations of Queensland and its eight member associations, showcased the cultural heritage and culinary tastes of Sri Lanka to Brisbane’s wider multicultural community.
The social media campaign launched by the federation targeted “culturally inspired food lovers” in Brisbane and the visitors had the opportunity to taste and appreciate authentic Sri Lankan food at 18 food stalls.
Several prominent representatives from all levels of government attended, among them Milton Dick, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Leanne Enoch, MP and Minister for Treaty, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Minister for Communities and Minister for the Arts; David Crisafulli, Leader of the Opposition, Senator Paul Scarr, Jess Pugh, MP, representing the Minister of Multicultural Affairs; James Martin, MP, Stretton; City Councillor Sarah Hutton, representing the Lord Mayor, and City Councillors Charles Strunk, Emily Kim and James Martin.
The multicultural stage had traditional Sri Lankan dances displaying different regional traditions, a fashion show and a bridal show featuring brides from three different ethnic communities in Sri Lanka. This year, the ethnic groups who performed at the stage included Portuguese and Indian (Gujarati, Panjabi Folk Dance, Bollywood, Bharath Natyam) dancers. In addition, the festival featured 22 small-business stalls selling and promoting Sri Lankan handicrafts and clothing.
The event had its humble beginnings as an indoor food festival in 2019 and then progressing to a full-day, large-scale outdoor event in 2020. The festival is considered an important event in Queensland’s multicultural calendar of events because of its notable societal impact in Southeast Queensland. It is supported by the Department of Multicultural Affairs, Brisbane City Council and our corporate partners and sponsors.
A notable feature of the event was recognising and felicitating three community leaders who had delivered exemplary service to the Sri Lanka community over several decades. The awards recipients this year were the late Dharme Ratnayake, late Lal Mendis and Mrs Kanthi Wijesoma.
FSOQ President Dr Jay Weerawardena said: “We are truly humbled by the fast growth of the Sri Lanka Day event which brings together all voluntary Sri Lankan associations to showcase our cultural heritage. It is also a platform to achieve our long-term vision of being a key contributor to enrich the multicultural diversity in Queensland.”
FSOQ Secretary Jayantha Weerasekera said the FSOQ was now an accredited charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, with a much broader agenda of programs to deliver greater value to the community.
“The Sri Lanka Day event not only provides opportunity for FSOQ member organisations to raise much-needed funds for their planned programs but also provide youth training for managing large community projects,” he said
.
Senator Paul Scarr reflects on Sri Lanka Day
This is a transcript of a speech delivered by Senator Paul Scarr in the Senate last week.
“I also want to congratulate the members of the community who received community service awards from the Sri Lankan community, including Dharme Rathnayake, who unfortunately sadly passed away last year. Dharme, with his wife, Amara, played a leading role in preserving and nurturing Sri Lankan cultural heritage in my home state of Queensland. I want to pay tribute to another winner of a community service award, Mrs Kanthi Wijesoma, who has been heavily involved in terms of community radio across Australia, integral in setting up a language school and a women’s association and has just been an outstanding leader in the Queensland Sri Lankan community. Thank you so much for your contribution.
“Lastly, I want to pay tribute to Mr Lal Mendis, who very sadly passed away last year. Lal was a driving force behind the Sri Lanka Sports Association. He was also instrumental and a driving force behind successfully establishing the first Sri Lanka Day Multicultural Food and Cultural Festival in 2021. I give my congratulations to his family for the contribution he made. These were all great members of the Sri Lankan community in my home state of Queensland. Each and every one of them represents the very best of Australian values.“
