Harmony Day 2024

Published on 04 March 2024

Hindmarsh Shire Council and West Wimmera Health Service, with support from the Victorian Government, extend an invitation to all members of the community to join in the celebrations for Harmony Day 2024 at the Nhill Memorial Community Centre on Thursday 21 March 2024 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

Council encourages all residents to come and celebrate the evening that will feature an array of traditional foods, arts, and culture. We will be joined by Asmita from West Wimmera Health Service who will demonstrate the art of dressing in a Sari and will also have various Saris on display for attendees to view.

Tracey Rigney, a proud Wotjobaluk and Ngarrindjeri woman from Dimboola, will be a guest speaker and will talk about her life growing up in the region and her journey to becoming an accomplished filmmaker and writer. Her work has included numerous documentaries, plays, short films and television series. Tracey has also recently become the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) second artist-in-residence and is a co-founder of Pink Lake Creative.

Hindmarsh Shire Council Director of Infrastructure Services, Ram Upadhyaya, his wife Sachita, and their family are originally from Nepal, and will perform traditional Nepalese dances. Local Karen community residents will also be performing as part of the celebrations.

Harmony Day is celebrated in March each year. The ongoing theme of the celebration is “Everyone Belongs,” which provides everyone with an opportunity to celebrate the cultures that enrich our community and make it an amazing place to live. Harmony Day is also an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the value of community participation, diversity, inclusiveness, respect and belonging.

Hindmarsh Shire Council Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland said, “We are very proud as a Shire to have a large multicultural population. We embrace all walks of life, respect their cultures and beliefs, and gain learnings of different ways to celebrate and respect everything that is great”.

Cr Ireland continued “we enjoy the kindness that this brings, and we now have leaders emerging in community groups, council, and our health services from different cultures.”

Cr Ireland concluded “Harmony Day is a great way to bring all cultures together, and I am hoping everybody will show their support on this evening event.”

Monica Revell
Acting Chief Executive Officer