The multicultural extravaganza known as the OneWorld Festival gloriously commandeered the Lakeside Resort's East Ballroom Saturday afternoon, proving yet again why it's become one of this city's most uplifting and most involving annual events.

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The festival, a product of South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS), is essentially an immigrant showcase – a place where newcomers to Canada and to the Penticton region in particular get to show off their various cultures.

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Saturday's edition, the seventh annual, featured representation from 35 different countries in the form of information and merchant booths, more than a dozen stations serving up food from around the world, and a continuous stream of entertainment on the event's performance stage.

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But you had to be there to fully understand and appreciate the ambience.

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It may sound overly sentimental, but the OneWorld Festival is all about harmony – harmony on both a global and local scale. Cameroonians hobnob with Irelanders. Syrians chat with Taiwanese. Colours merge with colours.

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Stories from far-off locales are traded like smiles, and performances spill off the stage and into the crowd, where the world danced together.

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Playing just an important role are the guests. There were upwards of 1500 Saturday, and, like every year, they came with a desire to be involved with one another. In the end, globalism trounced nationalism, and we're all a little better for it.

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And let's not forget the food. PentictonNow sauntered on over to the Nepal booth Saturday and were rewarded with a plate of "momos," Nepalese dumplings filled with chicken and onions and paired with a spicy dipping sauce.

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We gobbled them back like water in a dessert and wish we had another plate right now.

Laxmi Dangol ran the Nepal booth, along with brother Ashish Lama. She was funny and gregarious and she explained that they'd both come to the Okanagan from Dubai.

Photo Credit: NowMediaLaxmi Dangol and Ashish Lama served momos at the Nepal booth

"We were working there, but we wanted to have a different opportunity," she said.

We asked how they'd ended up in Penticton, and she laughed and said, "We landed directly here!"

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Dangol, who's been here six years and "loves it," is currently employed as a health care worker. Her brother, and her husband, who is now also in Penticton, work with 7-11.

And they hold SOICS in high regard. "They've helped us in every aspect," she said. "With the language, with finding jobs, and with learning the culture."

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Across the aisle was a booth where three young immigrant women – one from Syria, one from China, and one from India – were busy selling their brand new internationally flavoured cookbook.

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All three were positively delightful, and we ultimately chose to speak at length with China's Inza Du due to her superior English language skills.

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Du explained that she and her husband and three kids had moved to Canada nearly ten years ago, settling originally in Quesnel. In late 2019, they moved from Quesnel to Penticton, where they are "very happy."

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Du said the cookbook, a product of the three women, SOICS, and Okanagan College, is not only filled with an adventurous collection of recipes, but has also helped her change her life.

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"I've been home for many years with the kids," she said. "I'm pretty shy and my language isn't so good (it's actually very impressive) and my social life is not so good. But with this program, we've been learning about business and making the recipe book, and we've made friends through our classmates."

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"That helps my social part," she said with a laugh.

There'll be another OneWorld Festival in 2021. And festival rep Cherry Fernandez believes similar immigrant-focused events may be popping up in the near future.

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We hope that's true. Penticton needs more of the same.

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