People make Festival Special

July 8,1996

As much as the International Choral Kathaumixw is about music, it is about people: people sharing a love of singing of fine music.

And people breaking down barriers of culture, language and mystery, and making the world seem a lot smaller, and a lot friendlier than it was before.

The festival we in Powell River have come to love and enjoy is more than just a celebration of music, it is a celebration of the diversity and richness of our world.

Every two years, thousands of choir members from around the world come to Powell River to sing and perform.

They stay in our homes, eat in our restaurants, sing in our streets and they make our town even more special.

That bond that grow between people from places lake Russia, South Africa, Italy, Slovakia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and so many other countries and people in our town is what makes the festival so special.

Each day of the five-day festival scenes are repeated over and again:

* A young daughter of one host family rushing to put her arms around a billet from Slovakia;

* A hug from a South African woman to a complete stranger;

* Members of choirs from different countries holding hands as they join together in friendship; and,

*Choirs singing in informal gatherings to repay their hosts' generosity.

Every day, the people of Powell River and our visitors from around the world, learn that we are all alike, and that the cultural and language barriers that seemed unbreakable before are just speed-bumps on the way to friendship and understanding.

Kathaumixw truly is a "gathering of different peoples" and a wonderful gathering at that.