Oxford Diversity Vendor Show Ingersoll

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On a cloudy Victoria Day Weekend, I attended the first Oxford Diversity Vendor Show Ingersoll, hosted by Khadijah Haliru from Hanak Foods, held at the Unifor Hall in Ingersoll, Ontario on Sunday May 22, 2022. Khadijah Haliru wears many hats as a multifaceted entrepreneur and author residing in Oxford County who wants to connect and “to expose the reality that there are a significant number of diverse people in Oxford County now.” 

Khadijah is the CEO of K Business Group Incorporated which manages a group of brands, including HANAK Foods, the first bottled Nigerian stew sold in stores across Canada, K Body Blends, organic natural skin care products, and K Coaching Academy, her coaching school. With her well diversified businesses, it is no wonder that Khadijah was able to host such an event.
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The Oxford Diversity Vendor Show Ingersoll consisted of nineteen local vendors ranging from groups like OCCA, organizations like Kiwanis Ingersoll, food, jewellery, clothing and skin care product vendors, a travel agent, Oxford Manor Retirement Residence, and an immigration agency.  About 150 people attended the all-day event which ran from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. 

As a Black woman who moved to Oxford County in 1992, I was pleased that Oxford County’s population has become more diverse since then. It was a pleasure to meet Suzanne Phillips, President of Oxford Caribbean Canadian Association (OCCA) who founded the group during the pandemic in January 2020. Her goal is to connect new Black immigrants to the area with others who have been here for awhile to provide support and advocacy. Through social media like Instagram: @oxfordcaribcan and Facebook, there are about 300 followers.

The Core Steering Committee for OCCA consist of Duan Daley, Treasury, Linda Reid, Secretary and Michael Thomas Vice President. OCCA is a non-profit community group who via networking, plan to initiate services for adults and youth. Linda mentioned that a picnic was held in the last weekend of August last year. This year they will host another Summer Barbecue at Pittock Park and hope to have an official launch in October.
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Despite a newly formed group, OCCA has T-shirts, hoodies, and toques for sale. As a non-profit group, Linda stated all proceeds go back into programs. Other activities include Track and Activity night, Biking and Hiking and the OCCA Women’s Group. Connect via Facebook, Instagram or by email at oxford.caribcan@gmail.com.

(Linda Reid, Suzanne Phillips and Duan Daley from OCCA)

Aside from being the President and founder of OCCA, Suzanne Phillips also is an entrepreneur with her skin care business called Grassroots Health. “Grassroots Health is a health hub that addresses the mental and physical health concerns of women holistically.” Suzanne started this new business venture two months ago and has an on-line store. 

(Suzanne Phillips owner of Grassroots Health & MC Prestige)

The MC for this event was the lovely and multi-talented Noreitta Adelyn Ramocan, stage name Prestige Ignites: a model, singer, songwriter, spoken word artist, poet, motivational speaker, and a spiritual consultant. Prestige reported that while growing up, she listened to her mother singing reggae songs. She is from a line of musicians in her family, as both parents and an uncle were singers. Despite a faulty microphone, Prestige allowed vendors to talk briefly on/about their businesses. ​

Lydia Della Rocca was the first vendor to speak. She is a fifth generation Canadian of Italian heritage who is an Independent Travel Agent with Fareconnct Travel who cited the popular destinations for 2022. With the pandemic over two years, Lydia reported that the travel industry was hit hard. But now people are wanting to travel. She also reported of the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit which encourages Ontarians to travel the province to help with tourism and hospitality sectors. Ontario residents can claim up to 20% of accommodations expenses in 2022.

Marjorie Curet, Principal Consultant from Silver Peak Immigration, cited some statistics about immigration. She reported that small businesses are more likely to employ immigrants then large businesses and how immigrants are more likely to open business. Other statis include:

• One of three dentists are immigrants,
• 32% of software publishers are immigrants,
• 50% of restaurants are immigrants.

 
Marjorie also reported that “immigrants are hard working, optimist and open-minded people who are the backbone of this county.” Aside from the believe that immigrants take jobs away from residents, immigrants are the source of job creation for they are most likely to open small business that employ residents. 

Other activities at the Oxford Diversity Vendor Show Ingersoll included, Hanna painting, music, Magic Express children's cho cho train rides and food. A fun time for the whole family. 

​I had the opportunity to sample an eggroll from Taste of Indonesia that was very tasty. I even tried my pallet for the first time on a Nigerian dish called Fufu from Khadijah’s business Hanak Foods. According to a post entitled What is fufu? How to make the West African staple trending on TikTok “fufu refers to the slightly sour, spongy dough made from boiled and pounded starchy food crops like plantains, cassava and yams — or a combination of two or more.” I found it very light tasting, almost as if eating a cloud. Wonderful, but then again, I love food. 

(Nigerian dish rice with Fufu)

The host of Oxford Diversity Vendor Show Ingersoll, Khadijah Haliru, wrapped up the event by “asking for mutual understanding and respect for each other and recognizing we all bring something to the table. Acknowledging we all come with unique experiences, we must value that it makes us even better as a community.”
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Better words could not be spoken with recent hate crimes. Khadijah hopes to host this event next year to include a fun filled weekend from June 16 to 18, 20023, to include Woodstock, Ingersoll and Tillsonburg, which will continue to grow to unite us.