Thursday, 1 September 2022

Onam festival

Mr TARLAMIS (South Eastern Metropolitan) (09:49): Recently I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful Onam celebration at the Springvale town hall organised by the Malayalee Association of Victoria. At this event the vibrant and growing Malayalee community came together to celebrate Kerala’s traditional harvest festival and welcome the new season. This festival is celebrated not only in Victoria but by communities of people all around the world. It was a great opportunity to share this vibrant culture, enjoy traditional dishes and spread the message of unity with the community.

This event was also dedicated to acknowledging the amazing work of our dedicated and passionate healthcare workers, nurses and midwives, reflecting on the sacrifices they have made on the front line during the pandemic by staying away from their own families and loved ones to keep them safe while fighting to keep everyone else safe too. This was quite special, given a large proportion of those in attendance were nurses, midwives or from the healthcare sector. The successful event ran throughout the day and was attended by around 1500 people of all ages. It featured activities, events, traditional cultural performances and a traditional meal.

I want to thank the Malayalee Association of Victoria for allowing me to be part of this beautiful and special Onam celebration. The work that this organisation does and events like this celebration are instrumental in preserving, promoting and retaining the culture and traditions of Kerala and the Malayalam language for future generations as well as creating awareness and understanding by the wider Australian community. Events like this that share and celebrate our diverse cultures contribute so much to our vibrant multicultural state, and the strength of our diversity is something for which we should all be proud. I know it is certainly something that I am proud of.