The celebration is here, and I am ready to join the longest and oldest multicultural festival in the Midwest. Actually, this is a celebration that brings me close to my roots. It is a great time to connect with fellow immigrants and more than 100 ethnic groups while sharing our cultures and learning about others.
The event has been organized by the International Institute of Minnesota since 1932. Their main goal has been to inspire people to discover more about our world and embrace the rich cultural diversity in our community. This is exactly what you will experience in this unique four-day event, May 3-6, 2018, at the Saint Paul Convention Center. Nearly 100 ethnic groups will come together to share their cultural heritage through performances, exhibits, demonstrations, cuisine, and dances.
Grab your passport and head to the area labeled “Exhibits.” This is a real passport that you can obtain at the Festival of Nations’ information booth. There are 41 countries to interact with. Make sure to mark your passport as you make your way into each booth. Take advantage of this opportunity to explore and ask questions about other cultures and traditions.
This year World Stage has great performances representing diverse nations celebrating historical and contemporary cultural traditions. Some of the highlights are both Hawaiian and Latin music, a Native American pow wow, Irish dances, and dancers from Thailand. The presentations will be at the performance stage as well as the café. Make sure to review the schedule of times and performances.
The Folk-art demonstration is a good area to get to know and interact with the international artists. This year I look forward to meeting the Colombian fiber wall tapestry artist, Angelica Romero-Ackerman. Other works include Native American silversmiths, Chinese calligraphy, Ecuadorian loom weaving, and porcelain painting, Mongolian yurt making, Mexican textiles, Scandinavian Viking-age crafts, Senegalese pottery and much more.
This event is also a good time to discover and obtain goods inspired by ethnic cultures and traditions from around the world at the Bazaar. This year the following groups will be represented: African American, American Indian, Angolan, Bangladeshi, Bolivian, Cambodian, Chilean, Chinese, Colombian, Costa Rican, Ecuadorian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Ghanaian, Greek, Guatemalan, Hmong, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Japanese, Khmer, Malagasy, Mexican, Moroccan, Nepalese, Nigerian, Palestinian, Peruvian, Polish, Russian, Rwandan, Scottish, Seychellois, Somali, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Tanzanian, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ugandan, Venezuelan, & Vietnamese. I am pretty sure you will be able to find something unique. I always do.
As this global adventure takes you to various countries in order to learn about their languages, landscapes, and daily life, if you get hungry, don’t worry. This is your chance to try authentic food with diverse choices at the International Café. I tend to go to the Latino section since my senses recognize the rich flavors of my roots; simply delicious.
With good reason, this celebration has been around for 86 years. It is a great opportunity to travel around the world without a ticket or jet lag. Hope to see you there!
If you go: Saint Paul River Centre.
Hours: Friday, May 4th, 2018, 4:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 5th, 2018, 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 6th, 2018, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
More information and tickets: Festival of Nations
