(AlbertaCultureDays.ca)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

COMMUNITY BUILDING

Community drum circle highlights final weekend of Alberta Culture Days

Sep 24, 2020 | 11:59 AM

As Alberta Culture Days wraps up at the end of September, this weekend is offering a pair of community events to partake in at Red Deer’s Festival Hall.

On Friday, Urban Aboriginal Voices Society (UAVS) and Central Alberta Refugee Effort (CARE) host Drumming and Dancing from the 4 Directions, described as an “all-tribes community drum circle.”

From 1-5 p.m., there will be country dancing, and dances from Colombia, India, Africa and North American Indigenous people.

Then on Saturday, from 2-5 p.m., Unexpected Intersections: Music & Dance, also hosted by UAVS and CARE, will feature multicultural musical and dance performances.

Space is limited to about 35 people due to public health protocols. but both events are free and will be live-streamed on the UAVS and CARE Facebook pages.

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“The special piece about community drumming is that it brings people together without words and with good feelings and good emotions to learn more about each other. Everyone in the circle is equal, everyone has a voice, gets to play and have their own part, and that’s a message we really need right now,” says Tanya Schur, UAVS’ Community Facilitator.

“We really need to have spaces that are safe to explore our different beats and different rhythms. While that may seem like a bit of a fairy tale, we’ve proven we need to be something different, and that we need to come together in safe circles that will allow for difficult dialogue.”

Conversations, not necessarily at this event, but going forward, she points out, must revolve around racism, inclusion, identity, gender, love and community building.

“Th opportunity Red Deer has during Alberta Culture Days is one to become aware of our diversity in the city, but there are many steps beyond appreciating dance and music,” she says. “We need to step into recognizing and experiencing how diversity makes us stronger individually and as a community and city.”

For more information about the events, contact Pat at patatuavs@gmail.com or Jan at jan.underwood@care2centre.ca.

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