Punjabi Cultural Music Festival coming to Timmins

A Punjabi Cultural Music Festival will take place in Timmins June 25. It's expected to attract a large crowd, and the Timmins Economic Development Corporation is supporting the initiative.

"Timmins has always been quite welcoming to International students, and I know our students from Northern College have been welcomed with open arms here,” said Audrey Penner of the Timmins Economic Development Council.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity and Daisy (Kanwaljit Bains) has done such a good job of bringing this to us in a way that is manageable, exciting and enthusiastic all at the same time.”

The T-E-D-C is supporting the event with a $60-thousand grant from the Municipal Accommodation Tax Fund.

Festivities will include traditional ceremonies, free vegetarian food, a turban tying experience, Sikh martial arts and information booths. Bhangra performer 'Jazzy B' will also appear that evening.

“He’s been performing throughout the world and he does reside in Vancouver, that’s where his family is, and I did reach out to him and he volunteered to come to the cultural parade so we can bring more tourism to Timmins,” said Kanwaljit (Daisy) Bains, event organizer.

“Bring more attractions here, and let people know that Timmins does exist and it’s a beautiful city and that’s what I’ve been advertising."

A Sikh place of workshop and fellowship opened in Timmins in December, and Northern College has nearly a thousand foreign students enrolled in its programs, with most of them being from India.