What a wonderful town we live in!
By Jen Gourley
With a whirlwind of colour, music, art, dance and mouthwatering cuisine, the Flourish in Biloela Festival returned for its second year.
Showcasing how Biloela is its own international destination with so many amazing cultures on display, we were spoilt for choice with sights and sounds and enticing smells wafting around the Biloela Civic Centre.
Organised by Integreat QLD and the Biloela community, this multicultural festival allows our town to showcase and celebrate our amazing diverse cultures with pride.
This year’s festival also gave the Biloela community the chance to welcome the Nadesalingam family back with open arms, with many special moments including a healing smoking ceremony and a joyous time of thanksgiving for Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharnicaa.
The family, who arrived back in Biloela on Friday afternoon, were presented with gifts included a beautiful glass bowl by Integreat QLD President Tammy Freeman and flowers for Priya and her daughters presented by Banana Shire Mayor Nev Ferrier.
Flourish entertainment included exquisite music played by Raja Peteti on a South Indian veena (lute), a wide variety of dances from across the globe, and tunes from the band Sand.
Food on offer included German sausages, curries, doughnuts and other baked goods, ice creams, cupcakes, pork adobo, fried rice, pancit (stir-fried noodles), steamed dimsums, gimbap, kimchi stew, empanadas, cassava cake, and many other delicious delicacies prepared by members of the local community.
One of the highlights of this year’s Flourish festival was the parade of nations with beaming children and adults alike taking to the stage to proudly display the costumes of their culture. Bronwyn Dendle and Rita Twomey compered this section of the festival with humour and informative snippets about each country that was presented.
Seeing how many different cultures featured throughout this year’s Flourish makes your heart swell to know what a diverse and welcoming town Biloela has become.
Well done Integreat and well done Biloela!
