Organizers of the Edmonton Heritage Festival (EHFA) have decided to cut a Russian pavilion from this year's event, set for early August. Citing safety concerns--even threats--and objections from the Ukrainian community, festival organizers said in a statement Friday that there wasn't a way forward to include Russia in this year's celebration of world cultures.
"As much as we do our best to stay out of the politics that are reflected in the countries that make up our festival, conflicts do exist and can escalate to the point where they cannot be ignored," the association said.
"Despite our confidence in our ability to put on a safe festival, we recognize that if the Russian pavilion were to participate in the festival this year there is a real potential for incidents and potential safety risk."
The EHFA said it received demands from community organizations and individuals it not allow the Russian pavilion to participate this year because of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Though it didn't specify the threats, additional security at the Russian pavilion would've been necessary to avoid potential incidents, added the association. At last year's festival, Russia pavilion organizers voluntarily decided not to participate.
In the statement, the EHFA board said after a long consultative process, which included meeting with Ukrainian and Russian pavilion organizers, it became clear there wasn't a solution that included both parties.
"Edmonton is a city with strong ties to Ukraine..Sympathies are very high..," said the statement.
This year's multicultural festival runs Aug. 5-7 at the Edmonton Expo Centre Exhibition Grounds and Borden Park, as Hawrelak Park remains closed for upgrades.
