South Asian musical acts ready to take the Confluence stage tonight
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Except there's nobody, save for workers in neon vests toiling away at erecting barricades at the grounds of the Confluence Historic Site & Parkland, previously known as Fort Calgary.
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Cushions lay strewn behind the barricades. Poles with curtains beat against the wind. A forklift carries logs to a tent as a few men give directions to other workers. Soon, these arrangements will come alive in the next few hours, for an event that is the first of its kind.
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Dubbed the Stampede Mela — the latter of which stands for a fair in Hindi — the festival will feature a range of South Asian voices who will give a taste of their culture in different art forms.
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'With all the moving parts, it's definitely stressful, right?' said Jas Toor, the co-organizer of the festival. 'Because you've got to make sure that when people come here, they have a good time.'
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The event boasts a variety of artists, ranging from Chani and Moga, known for their traditional Punjabi music, to South Asian rapper AR Paisley; to DJ Intense, who has worked with big names in the Bollywood industry; to a mentalist with the stage name Anmol Magic.
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Despite taking up such a responsibility for the first time, Toor knew a section of the market craved a cultural festival. He discovered that unexpectedly, when he and his co-organizer Amar Duhra hosted an indoor party featuring a few artists last year as part of a promotion for a cannabis company.
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The cannabis company never took off, but Toor said he was pleasantly surprised to see the nightclub party surpass his expectations by nearly three times the expected attendance.
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'It was pretty crazy in there,' Toor said. 'That's when we realized we can't really do this indoors.'
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According to the 2021 census, the South Asian population in Calgary is 141,000, a number that has reportedly grown as the city received an influx of migrants in 2023. With more than a million visitors to Stampede, a significant portion comprises South Asian people, who Toor said are starved of an event that celebrates their culture.
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