Festivals and Celebrations
If you live close enough these are great places to visit. If you want to start your own festival, here are some great examples of successful celebrations, many of which have been going on for many years. Visit their websites and Facebook pages to learn more. You can create your own community festival. Businesses can display their products and services, and politicians can show their interest in the community by meeting their constituents. This is an excellent way for students to see and learn what a vibrant their community they live in. Festivals not only bring together different cultures, but also religions. Music, food, clothing and artwork offer insight into our multi-cultural nation that can only be shown in an event like these.
Feast of Portland in Portland, Oregon
Each fall people gather around good food, good drinks, and excellent company in the heart of Portland. Held I the Fall each year, each community can create its own version, working with local restaurants and people who just love to cook and like to share their creations. A gathering of food trucks is an effortless way to get organized. The city Mayor is the best person to work with, as this will enhance the image of the community, while embracing our Collective Experience for students and all community members. You might call the people that manage the festival if you have any questions – what makes a successful event. Look on their Facebook to see more pictures and what people have to say. Over 30,000 people like and follow the festival!
While in Portland visit the Peninsula Park Rose Garden
Providence Preservation Society
Festival of Gardens: This is an example of the wonderful activities that you can find in every part of the country that students can enjoy and find interesting. The Providence Preservation Society is delighted to announce our special Festival of Gardens taking place every year in June, and presented in partnership with The Garden Conservancy, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, share, and celebrate America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public.
Festival of Gardens Highlights Green Oases in City’s Urban Landscape by Brent Runyon https://www.goprovidence.com/
Green-thumbed homeowners have transformed their city backyards into urban sanctuaries by using water features, pergolas and courtyards to accent rhododendrons, mossy vignettes and old and notable trees. Many of the gardens are also functional — vegetable beds, fruit trees and beehives await tour attendees. You will also tour a 40-year-old community garden that is farmed using organic practices, as well as the Colonial Revival garden at Shakespeare’s Head, a building dating from 1772.
NICE Festival in Norwalk, CT:
The Norwalk International Cultural Exchange (NICE) is a 501(c3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote and increase awareness of the diversity of people from around the world through arts and culture. The mission of NICE is to encourage the various groups that make up our society to learn about each other’s traditions and customs in order to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of what each group brings to our community.
The Norwalk International Cultural Exchange (NICE) is a 501(c3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote and increase awareness of the diversity of people from around the world through arts and culture. The mission of NICE is to encourage the various groups that make up our society to learn about each other’s traditions and customs in order to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of what each group brings to our community.
Look for festivals in your community like this one: The NICE Festival was established to celebrate the rich global heritage and culture so evident in the music, food, art, and diverse population of which we in Norwalk, Connecticut is so proud. The NICE Festival host dancers, musicians, food and craft vendors from multiple traditions and customs. The day-long event is filled with an abundance of artistic expressions across sight, sound, and taste, and are presented through the visual arts, the performing arts, and culinary arts. NICE produces programs that invite collaboration and participation from multiple ethnic groups at the same time and within the same space so each group can share their cultural traditions while at the same time experiencing and learning about the other groups that are also participating.
Kutztown Folk Festival, PA
The Kutztown Folk Festival is the oldest continuously operated folklife festival in America. This nine-day event continues to draw visitors from all over the world, entertaining families while providing valuable insight into the traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch and their fascinating way of life. The USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards, named the Kutztown Folk Festival one of the top two cultural festivals in the country.
Store owners can display their wares, but they need to be relevant to the Festival Theme.
Every town should support local businesses with a Cultural Festival
Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is one of the largest celebrations in the country. Small communities can put together a one or two day music festival by inviting local talent and artists to join for benefit of their neighbors. You might be surprised by the virtuosity of people you know. You would be surprised how many videos are on YouTube that teach you how to set up a music festival and how much they cost.
An old Coachella poster from 2009.
