Zinda Festival Kitchen Project

Last year Zinda Festival was held for the first time. Zinda means alive and lively in 6 different languages. Held in March 2018, it was Bendigo’s biggest ever multicultural event, with around 4,000 people attending. While it was a great success, this was a much bigger crowd than expected and food ran out quickly!

This year, we want to support three multicultural communities to build the skills to cater at Zinda Festival. This will involve community members gaining Food Handling Certificates, building business skills, planning menus and getting organised to cater for BIG crowds.

Zinda Festival celebrates our region’s growing cultural diversity- the music, dance, food and cultures that increasingly contribute to the vibrancy of our community. As the 2016 census shows, we are a changing community, with increasing numbers of new arrivals choosing to call Bendigo home.

This project will increase opportunities for everyone to learn more about, and enjoy, our growing cultural diversity. It will also support three multicultural groups to learn new skills and build their capacity to participate in community life. This capacity building can lead to further community projects as well as education and employment opportunities for individuals involved.