Dear Editor,

On behalf of Pemberton Multicultural Network, I would like to thank everyone who came to the first Pemberton Multicultural Celebration. When we were organizing this event we wanted to have the opportunity to share our cultures with the community of Pemberton, offering our skills, values and experiences. We hope we have done that.

At the same time, we have learnt so much about the people of Pemberton — their generosity, interest and welcoming spirit. It was a huge pleasure to see so many come out and have some fun, join in and spend time with us.

I also want to thank all the volunteers who put so much of their own time and energy into making the Celebration such a success. There’s no room to mention everyone, but thank you Yuko, Ann, Fanny, Lisette, Elisa, Kaori, Toshi, Sandy, Miho, Fe, Kinu, Hiroko, Fumie, Misun, Mari, Reiko, Hiroko, Hiromi, Aki, Masumi, Lolita, Nancy, Karen, and Carole for your huge hearts and for donating your (and your family’s) time.

Special thanks also go to the Lil’wat Nation and Lois Joseph for sharing their dances, crafts and food with us. Also to Shannon Ellis at the Pemberton Library for supporting this idea from the start, to Jill Brooksbank at the Village of Pemberton for believing in and supporting the event, to James Linklater who made it possible for us to offer food, to the Pemberton council who were brave enough to grant funding to get us started, and to Mayor Jordan Sturdy who was kind enough to say a few words at the event, and then stayed on quite a while.

To all those who made this event a special success for the Pemberton Multicultural Network – thank you. We hope to be able to make this an annual event, and look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Mika Matsudate

Pemberton Multicultural Network