(Pece Siljanovski) - More than 100,000 people turned out to watch the Moomba Parade on March 13, a tradition now for 51 years in Melbourne. With around 2,000 performers of the parade, the “Federation of Macedonian Cultural and Artistic Associations of Victoria” (FOMKUD) which consists of cultural-artistic groups from Northern Melbourne (Preston, Reservoir, Thomastown, Lalor, Epping) to Western Melbourne (Sunshine, St Albans, Sydenham, Keilor) were joined by the cultural-artistic group “Koco Racin” from Skopje, Macedonia and “Majovci” also from Macedonia to represent the large Macedonian community in Australia.

The Majovci set the pace with their breathtaking performance of traditional Macedonian music using the zurla (an aerophonic instrument) and tapan (a huge cylindrical drum) that dazzled the public, followed by performances of Macedonian traditional folk dancing by the cultural-artistic groups of Victoria and Macedonia, showcasing pride of their Macedonian heritage.

The Moomba Parade also had participants from the Indonesian, Indian, Spanish, Samoan and Japanese communities, showing us that this parade is truly a cherished symbol of multiculturalism in Victoria and Australia.

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