The first Beaconsfield Sino-Canadian Cultural Festival (Festival culturel sino-canadien de Beaconsfield) drew hundreds of West Island residents to Centennial Park on Saturday, filling the shoreline of Lac Saint-Louis with tea ceremonies, lion-dance drums, calligraphy brushes and a wishing tree hung with handwritten notes.
The festival is a Beaver & Panda Alliance event, presented with Avec Liang and held in partnership with the City of Beaconsfield. Built around Qixi — the Chinese festival of connection — the day was designed less as a performance for spectators than as an invitation to participate.
Municipal leaders on site
Elected officials from Beaconsfield, joined by representatives from the City of Pointe-Claire, visited the grounds at 1 p.m. They welcomed the festival's contribution to cultural life in the West Island and its role in strengthening understanding between neighbours of different backgrounds.
Twelve hands-on workshops
Rather than a single main attraction, the festival was organized around twelve interactive stations where visitors could try traditional arts themselves.
At the yaji (literati gathering) tables, a steady stream of visitors sat for tea tasting and watched demonstrations of traditional incense and floral arrangement — a quiet counterpoint to the music from the stage.
The heritage-craft stations drew the longest lines. A calligrapher demonstrated brushwork throughout the afternoon; visitors took turns at the jiama woodblock printing table, inking carved blocks and pressing their own prints; others tried traditional fortune sticks and coin-toss blessings. Many of the participants were not of Chinese descent, working through each step with the help of volunteers.
Beneath a blossom tree by the water, West Island families and young people tried on hanfu for photographs, then wrote wishes for their families and their community on ribbons and tied them to the branches. By late afternoon the tree was full.
A stage that ran all day
The main stage presented a performance every hour from late morning to evening, drawing on local groups across several generations.
The Chinese-Canadian Friendship Association Art Troupe opened the program. The Montreal Confucius School and the seniors' club of the West Island Chinese Sports and Activity Centre followed with performances by older members of the community. The Star Light girls' group brought contemporary pop dance with "It's Me," and the McGill Chinese Music Ensemble performed classical repertoire on traditional instruments. The Le Jian dance troupe presented "Auspicious Dance," and a scene from the Peking opera classic The Drunken Concubine showcased the form's precise gesture and vocal technique.
The day closed with Da Lian Xiang, a Tujia harvest dance from Enshi, Hubei, listed as intangible cultural heritage. Performers struck rhythms with decorated bamboo sticks and pulled the audience into the beat.
Looking ahead
The Beaver & Panda Alliance said the partnership with the City of Beaconsfield has established an ongoing platform for cultural exchange in the West Island, and that it plans to continue working with local community partners on future events. The festival is organized by the C&C Global Cultural Exchange Association.
2026 年 8 月 22 日，Beaver & Panda Alliance 携手 Avec Liang、与 Beaconsfield 市政府合作举办的首届"七夕多元文化节"（Festival culturel sino-canadien de Beaconsfield）在西岛百年公园（Centennial Park）成功举行。数百位来自西岛及大蒙特利尔地区的各族裔居民与家庭齐聚圣路易斯湖畔，在自然风光与传统节日氛围中沉浸式体验东方美学，共筑温暖包容的社区纽带。
市政要员出席见证，共促多元社区融合
本次文化节得到了当地政府的大力支持。下午 1 点，Beaconsfield 市政要员与 Pointe-Claire 市政府代表亲临现场，高度肯定了活动在丰富西岛多元文化生活、增进跨族裔理解与邻里凝聚力方面的积极作用。
沉浸式非遗工坊，深化跨文化互动体验
活动紧扣七夕文化内核，设立了 12 个沉浸式文化体验与互动工坊，为本地居民提供零距离触碰中华传统艺术的机会。
雅集体验：茶道品饮、古法香道与花道展示吸引了络绎不绝的居民驻足静心体验，生动传递东方生活美学的雅致意境。
非遗手作与民俗互动：书法名家现场挥毫示范、非遗"甲马"版画拓印体验、传统摇签与祈福投币等展位前排起长队。许多非华裔居民在志愿者的指导下亲手体验版画拓印，感受古老技艺的温度。
汉服打卡与寄语：湖畔桃树美陈下，众多西岛家庭与青年换上传统汉服合影留念，并在祈福丝带上写下对社区与家人的美好祝愿系于枝头，形成一道动人的文化风景线。
舞台全天轮番开演，多元艺术对话本土社区
主舞台从上午至傍晚每逢整点带来兼具传统韵味与现代活力的精彩演出，汇聚了本地多个知名艺术团体与青年力量，打造了一场跨越代际与文化的视听盛宴。
加中友谊促进会艺术团拉开演出序幕；蒙特利尔孔子学校与西岛华人体育活动中心长者俱乐部带来展现中老年一代蓬勃朝气的文化表演；Star Light 女团活力登台，献上现代流行舞蹈《It's Me》；麦吉尔中乐团奏响悠扬典雅的东方民乐经典；"乐见"舞团带来灵动细腻的舞蹈作品《吉祥舞》；经典京剧名段《贵妃醉酒》惊艳亮相，一招一式尽显戏曲国粹风华。
湖北恩施土家族非遗庆丰收舞《打莲湘》欢快登场，演员手持莲湘击打节奏，以浓郁的民俗感染力与现场观众互动，为全天舞台画上圆满句号。
展望
Beaver & Panda Alliance 表示，本次与 Beaconsfield 市政府的紧密合作为西岛搭建了高品质的常态化文化对话平台，未来将继续携手当地社区与各界伙伴，推出更多促进文化互鉴、加深邻里友谊的交流活动。本届文化节由加中全球文化交流协会（C&C Global Cultural Exchange Association）组织实施。
Photo gallery
