Lisa Simons was an ESL teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School when pushed organizers of the end-of-year bash to serve sambusas instead of pizza. Attendees were cautious to try the Somali cuisine that first year, and only about half the sambusas sold.
They sold out of sambusas the next year, which Simons said is a testament to the value of cultural exploration. Nowadays, she’s among the lead organizers of the Faribault International Festival, which is being held for the 19th year Saturday in Central Park.
“When you try new food and when you experience new things, you just never know if you’re going to like it or maybe even love it,” she said. “That’s what this is inviting, right? This is inviting new experiences.”
Now run by the Faribault Diversity Coalition, the International Festival returns with its iconic flag ceremony, about 10 food vendors serving cuisine from Faribault’s different cultures, as well as cultural art, music and dance. A first for the festival, traditional Czech dance will be featured on the stage this year to finish off the event.
This year’s theme is “neighbor meeting neighbor.”
“It just brings the neighborhoods together,” Simons said of the festival. “It brings the people together. And inevitably, I think that people learn about other cultures, and that really is the point. There’s just a rich history here. Not only is there a rich history, but there’s also a rich present.”
Attendees will arrive in Central Park amid the music of Lil Fun Band of Rice County, who are performing from the bandshell to kick off this year’s festival. On the park grounds, local artists will create art with children and adults alike.
The Faribault Farmers’ Market and Faribault Makers’ Market will also be in Central Park, the first of which has a few vendors that accept SNAP as payment.
At noon, the iconic flag ceremony begins, wherein flags from 31 different cultures are presented usually by someone of that culture. At the same time until 2 p.m., face painters and a henna artist will be in the park as well.
Kids will be able to meet K9 Thor, the police dog belonging to Faribault Police officer Mike Shuda, from 1-2 p.m. The penultimate activity involves piñatas, with the smashing beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Capping off the festival and making their debut at the Faribault festival, Czech dancers will demonstrate a traditional Czech performance. The performance is significant due to the heritage of those in the “Bohemian Triangle,” an area northwest of Faribault where many Czech immigrants settled generations ago.
The area has seen many waves of immigration over the years, each bringing a new culture with them. Getting those cultures to collaborate is why Cindy Diessner decided to volunteer to help with the festival.
“The goal is to bring diverse people together, even just for an afternoon so that we can learn about each other, learn about the countries we come from, the food, some of the cultural things,” she said. “And hopefully, if we learn about those things, we will learn to like those things. And we will appreciate the people who can share that knowledge and our skills and abilities. Anyway, everyone’s got something to contribute, and everyone should benefit from the whole (of society).”
She said, in a world full of division, the Diversity Coalition and the International Festival are intended to bring out the value in cultural diversity.
“There’s race issues, there’s gender issues, there’s nationality issues, there’s poverty and wealth issues, education levels. I mean, so many things,” Diessner said. “There’s all these things that can divide people. What we need to do is somehow learn how to bridge all those differences and realize that they are really strengths.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0