Past participants of the Newcomers’ Welcome Fair. Photo: Supplied: Miao Sun.
On Saturday, August 29, Kirkbridge Park will once again be host to the annual Newcomers’ Welcome Fair. Established in 2022, the fair serves to welcome newcomers and connect them to other members of the newcomer community as well as settlement and other resources to help them adjust to their new lives in Winnipeg and Canada.
“This is our fifth year to organize this event,” said Miao Sun, president of the Manitoba Chinese Family Centre, one of the organizations behind the event.
“We expect 300 to 500 people, depending on their availability, because summer is always busy.”
Sun explained that in addition to settlement services, a number of other vendors and service providers will be present at the fair.
“Mostly they are local businesses, including realty services, credit unions,” Sun said.
“We have immigration services… social media, the express company, you know, for courier services. We have bubble tea.”
“Winnipeg Transit will join us to introduce public transit and share information with the public.”
Sun said a need to establish connections between newcomers in the Chinese community as the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane in 2022 helped provide the impetus to start the event.
“That was almost the end of COVID. At the time, leaders from the organizations came out to talk about how, because of COVID, people were apart from each other. We didn’t get the chance to get together, have community gatherings, share information or connect with each other.”
“So, we talked about what we were going to do with the community, and then we came up with the idea that maybe in the summer we could have an event to welcome newcomers and get community members together to connect again.”
“So, we came up with the idea to have a Newcomers’ Welcome Fair.”
Sun said recent changes to federal immigration policy have had an effect on the concerns she sees from newcomers who come to the fair.
“We see fewer newcomers in the community,” Sun remarked.
“Earlier, when people were holding work permits, they might transition from being a work-permit holder to permanent resident status. But in recent years, because of policy changes, I think it’s not as easy for some of them. We hear a lot of stories about people having trouble renewing their study or work permits and applying for permanent residence.”
Sun said that community organizations and events like the Newcomers’ Welcome Fair can help newcomers build connections and can also help introduce them to services they might not otherwise know exist.
“A lot of times, people don’t get the information directly from organizations. They have to have a channel or connection to get that information.”
“An event like what we organize builds that connection and gives the community an opportunity to talk to people and organizations like CRA, Service Canada and other places that serve the community. Earlier, they didn’t get the opportunity to talk or chat with each other. I think that’s the thing.”
Sun explained that although the fair initially focused primarily on Winnipeg’s Chinese community, organizers have increasingly sought to involve newcomers from other backgrounds.
“We hope we can get more services who really work with, or need to talk to, newcomers to join us, and also build connections with other communities.”
Jing Mo, who came to Winnipeg three years ago from China, said that finding out about the Newcomers’ Welcome Fair and being able to connect with the existing Chinese Canadian community in Winnipeg made the daunting adjustment to life in Canada easier.
“When I moved to Winnipeg, I felt a little nervous because I wasn’t ready to start my life in a completely new environment, especially with the language barrier.”
“I wanted to get connected with people in Winnipeg and feel more comfortable and confident. So, I reached out to one of my good friends who had been living in Winnipeg for many years. She recommended Miao and the Manitoba Chinese Family Centre to me, saying they would make me feel at home.”
“After I arrived in Winnipeg, I joined the first summer event at the end of August as a volunteer.”
“I met lots of people who had been living in Winnipeg for a long time and also supported newcomers at this event.”
After the event, Mo continued to be involved with the Manitoba Chinese Family Centre.
“I think this experience supported me in settling quickly, building up my connections and becoming engaged in the community quickly.”
Sun said that a big issue many newcomers face is not knowing what organizations can help them or where to find them, making outreach particularly important.
“Don’t assume people will come to us if they need help. I don’t think that happens very often. You need to go to the communities that you serve, reach out to people, talk to people.”
In addition to services for newcomers, the Newcomers’ Welcome Fair will also include a “kids’ zone” that includes face painting, balloon making and temporary tattoos.
There will also be cultural performances featuring the traditional Chinese instruments the ghuzheng and hulusi as well as tai chi, line dancing, and dragon dancing.
The Newcomers’ Welcome Fair will take place at Kirkbridge Park from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 29.
Graham McDonald, U Multicultural Journalism and Media Arts Centre