Music is a Universal Language:

Newcomers gained a strong sense of community belonging by learning and playing the ukulele together at an event sponsored by the City of Coquitlam’s Pinetree Community Centre. A newcomer client enthusiastically commented: 

“I have now taken the first step to participate in a community event.  I wouldn’t have realized it was so much fun and I would never imagine I could play Canada’s national anthem.” 

Salmon Sculpture Scavenger Hunt:

12 salmon sculptures were recently installed throughout Coquitlam as a legacy public art project for the City's 125th birthday.  Newcomers viewed some of the sculptures and had a chance to discover Coquitlam and learn about public art.  One newcomer marvelled at how the artwork came alive after a chance to learn about its details:

“Every time I passed by the Salmon Sculpture at Lafarge Lake, I didn’t pay attention to the artwork on the fish.  Now I know the very meaningful story behind it.”

Celebrating Diversity:

Local immigrants shared stories of their settlement journeys.  Our newcomer clients listened to the stories and appreciated how everyone faced different challenges in adjusting to a new country.  Our clients also had a chance to enjoy art, music and dance from other cultures including Chinese, Farsi, Indian, and Korean performances.  They compared the traditional dress from each culture and each shared their favourites.  It was beautiful to hear our Persian clients sharing their delight about the Chinese traditional dress while our Chinese clients admired the Persian traditional dress in turn.