Enjoying what other cultures have to offer

In addition to the festivity in the air on Landsgemeindeplatz and on Vorstadt last Saturday, there were also aromas from lots of different kinds of culinary delights on the occasion of the Festival of Nations.
 
No fewer than representatives of 30 different nations, along with one Swiss one, set up stands to offer those attending a taste of where they came from, whether it was curry and crispy samosas from India and Pakistan, cevapcici (grilled rolls of mincemeat) from the Balkans, chili con carne from Spain or mincemeat with macaroni from nearer home. Not that everything was savoury, there was also a wide variety of sweetmeats and pancakes to try.
 
The first Festival of Nations event, organised by the Immigration Advisory Centre (FMZ) and various migrant groups within the canton, went down so well in 2014 that it was decided to arrange them again.
 
In addition to all the different food stalls, there were also displays of traditional dancing and music, for example from Albania and Russia, with some performers in colourful traditional costume, too, making it all a spectacle for the eyes as well as the ears and taste buds. Then there was a demonstration of yodelling, too. That it rained on Saturday did not seem to matter at all.
 
As Esther Dunn, who heads the FMZ, explained, the idea behind it all was that those who make up the canton’s foreign population and locals should get to know each other better, and in this it surely succeeded.
 
The photograph shows the cheerful ladies at the Filipino stand, who, in addition to offering their culinary specialities, also provided travel tips.