Building stronger community through Westman’s Multicultural Festival in Brandon

The Westman Multicultural Festival didn’t just bring cultures together—it turned Brandon into a world tour in three days. With crowds packing into pavilions, a record number of completed passports, and a lineup of food, music, and dance, organizers are calling it a resounding success. The new passport initiative proved a hit, pushing visitors to explore every pavilion, and next year’s event is already shaping up to be even bigger. More pavilions on Thursday? More collaboration? The momentum is there, and Brandon is ready for it.

There’s a dichotomy developing before our eyes: at the national level we’re told that diversity, equity, and inclusion is the root of all evil. At the local level, it enriches lives and attracts people. At least, that was the result of what could be labeled a ‘diversity’-embracing cultural festival in Brandon recently. It’s also worth noting for our friends at the Norsk Hostfest — there are lots of people among us with heritage and culture that extend beyond Scandinavia; those folks seem to be pretty proud, too. Hmmm.

Get the full story on Brandon’s success from Discover Westman,.