The popular Dutch Sinterklaas festival will go ahead as planned on Dec. 3, but the controversial Black Peter character will not be part of the celebration.
Organizers of the festival say they made the decision on Thursday night to exclude the traditional character after receiving complaints about racism from the Lower Mainland's black community.
In Dutch tradition, one or more Black Peters accompany Sint Nicholaas during Christmas celebrations. The character almost always appears in blackface makeup, which many find offensive.
"In the last 43 years, I've never thought about this issue too much, and last Friday it came to our attention. It forced us to do some research, which we did, and we did it open-minded," said Tako Slump, event organizer and owner of Holland Shopping Centre on East Columbia Street. "I came to the conclusion myself that it is somewhat hypocritical, what has always been done."
Slump said there are differing versions of the Black Peter character, but none of them are flattering to black people.
"They made their concerns clear, and doing the research on our side and trying to understand them, I came to that conclusion," he said. "I can see where they're coming from, and because of that, we have said that we will not have an event that we've organized with Peters that are black."
But the discussion isn't over. Slump has emailed his Dutch customers to gauge reaction to the change and ask for input on how to best celebrate Sinterklaas without Black Peter.
"We will have a Peter but definitely not black, and we haven't figured out how we're going to do that yet. We're going to wait over the weekend to see what kind of response we get from our Dutch clientele," he said.
Slump said he also plans to open a conversation on the Sinterklaas Facebook page to allow anyone, black, Dutch or otherwise, to comment on the issue. He added that all respectful comments will be left up.
Slump said the change should mean everyone will feel welcome to join the celebration next Saturday.
"We want to make it available for everybody, and we want a situation where no one will be offended. That's what we've tried to accomplish," he said.
New Westminster's Sinterklaas celebration starts at 10 a.m.on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Westminster Quay. Since the 1980s, Sinterklaas has grown to the be the largest Dutch Christmas celebration in Western Canada and draws upwards of 500 people each year.
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