Long Table Lunch

CCK Celebrate Culture Cockburn Action Team, in collaboration with the South Lake Ottey Family and Neighbourhood Centre, held a Long Table Lunch on Wednesday 16 June.

Our Long Table Lunches provide an opportunity for community members, and their children, to come together and build connections across the Cockburn community whilst learning about different cultures and cultural practices. Everyone who attends is asked to bring a dish to share that has special meaning to them or their culture.

The event opened with an Acknowledgement to Country, followed by two showstopping performances from The Perth South Dancing Troupe.  The first dance ‘Lotus under the Moonlight’ describes a beautiful fishpond full of lotus flowers under the moonlight.

The second dance was accompanied by a musical trio playing a pipa, sekong and flute. The dance ‘Beautiful Women Soldiers’ is about women who join the army for a peaceful world, but still enjoy wearing beautiful dresses and having colourful dreams.

We then sat down to enjoy a delicious long table lunch.  Community members brought an array of dishes to share, that had special meaning to them including oloveiyeh salad, Hainanese chicken, spaghetti bolognaise, samosas and curry puffs among other scrumptious delights.  This multifarious food acted as conversational starters with community members bonding over stories of life, love and change.

The children were kept busy with an interactive activity area and nature play in the beautiful gardens while Moorditj Koort showed us how to make damper.

The event concluded with a spectacular didgeridoo performance by Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Centre.

Community members were delighted with the opportunity to be unified in their pride and to celebrate the richness and benefits we get from being such a diverse community.