About Us

Carassauga Festival is an incorporated non-profit volunteer community organization celebrating multiculturalism since 1985. Recognized as Canada’s largest multicultural Festival, Carassauga’s vision is to organize a city-wide family friendly multicultural festival suitable for all ages to promote understanding, respect and co-operation among all Canadians of different heritage.

Our Mission

– To provide an opportunity for Mississauga citizen groups from different countries of origin a chance to promote public awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of their cultures and cultural expressions.
– To promote principles of good citizenship, thereby encouraging tolerance, mutual cooperation and respect between and amongst Mississauga citizens.
– to encourage ethno-specific groups to cooperate together and to participate in mainstream cultural, civic and social activities.

Our History

Carassauga operated the first festival in 1986 with 10 Pavilions, initially operating only on Saturday and Sunday. It was created in response to a challenge put out by the former Mayor Hazel McCallion to all ethno cultural groups at a meeting of her calling in the old City Hall in the fall of 1985.

 

1 – Largest Multicultural Festival in Canada
2 – Age of Carassauga’s youngest performer
3 – Number of original countries who have been with the Festival since its inception: Croatia, Philippines and Portugal
7 – Pavilion locations throughout Mississauga 
13 – Stages with non-stop entertainment
19 – Hours (Festival)
25 – Number of Cultural Pavilions 
39 – Years the Festival has been running 
55 – Artisans 
462 – Performances 
2,615 – Performers 
3,449 – Volunteers involved with the festival
92,617 – Hours of time dedicated by all the volunteers 
295,306 – Number of visits recorded 

As a volunteer-based organization, our board is comprised of various members reflective of our cultural pavilions (providing community aspect and multicultural capacity) and from the wider community with special skill sets such as financial management, marketing, logistics planning, legal expertise and HR skills.

Carassauga Board of Directors – 2024 – 2025

Chairman – Marek Ruta

Vice Chair – Resty del Rosario

Vice Chair – Pavilions and Programs – Cynthia Prazeres-Mare  

Treasurer – Sean Franklin 

Secretary – Silvina Antunes 

Directors – Hema Pereira, Sunil Bungay, Zahid Syed, Sandra Pereira, Ursula Makula, Catherine Taylor, Ophelia Ramdth, Tamer Bibawi, Sinan Erdemir, Fatoumata Keita, Tariq Shah, Endah Nuriningtiyas 

Past Chair – Anna Fernandes  

 

Carassauga Festival Inc.
5600 Rose Cherry Place, Unit 7, 3rd floor
Mississauga ON L4Z 4B6

Telephone: 905.615.3010

Email: info@carassauga.com

OFFICE HOURS

Monday – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Tuesday – by appointment only
Wednesday – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Thursday – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Friday – by appointment only
Saturday / Sunday – CLOSED

Facebook 
www.facebook.com/Carassauga

X (formerly Twitter) – @Carassauga
www.twitter.com/carassauga

Instagram – #Carassauga
www.instagram.com/carassauga

YouTube
www.youtube.com/c/CarassaugaFestivalOfCultures

2024 Annual General Meeting
Thursday September 12, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
Location: Paramount Fine Foods Centre