Folk dancers representing many cultures around the world will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 29, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home. The festival entertainment will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Februar 29 at the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.
Entertainers include the Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers; Spice of India Dancers; Kinetics Wellness Studio, with instructor Katrien Sevrin and students presenting contemporary Egyptian dance; Pasión Flamenca, performing flamenco and Spanish folk dances; the Meriaki Greek Dancers from St. George Greek Orthodox Church; the Tennessee Irish Dancers; Debka and the Oasis Dancers; National Martial Arts, demonstrating martial arts with audience participation; and the Asian Culture Center of Tennessee, along with the University of Tennessee Japanese Program.
Children and adults will also be invited to participate with the Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers after they perform a few dances, a press release said. The group presents village dances from throughout Europe, China, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, and Japan.
Among activities during the day will be:
- Crafts for children to make and take home, including alpine hats, paper plate parrots, and cotton ball sushi.
- A Tea Ceremony from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. hosted by the Asian Cultural Center in Imagination Gallery. The center will also share information on Japanese culture.
- Postage stamps from many countries available for collecting in the Craft & Science Room, hosted by the Knoxville Philatelic Society.
- Opportunities to learn Morse code and how to communicate with other countries through amateur radio, hosted by the Oak Ridge Amateur Radio Club in the Discovery Lab.
- Arts and crafts demonstrations, including basket weaving and footstool weaving by Fox Hollow Creations, with items offered for sale.
- Visits to the model train layouts of the Knoxville Area Model Railroaders in the World of Trains exhibit.
Food vendors will have dishes from nearly a dozen countries available to purchase. They include Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen, Mediterranean Delight, St. George Greek Desserts, Empanadas Bolivianas, Tequeknox, Anya’s Gone Nuts, Cubish Food Truck, Handmade Toffee & Treats, and Tennessee Irish Dancers, offering Irish whiskey cake.
Hosting cultural, craft, and information booths will be Nuestros Niῆos, a non-profit offering Guatemalan crafts, with proceeds benefiting service work there; Sons of Norway Lodge – Vikings of the Smokies, presenting information on Norway and a lefse baking demonstration, the press release said.
The International Festival is supported by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Arts Fund for East Tennessee, a fund of the East Tennessee Foundation. International Festival sponsors include the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, which is assisting with the event.
Admission to the International Festival is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $10 for children 3-17, and $1 off each category for museum members. The event is free for children under the age of 3. For more information, call the Children’s Museum at (865) 482-1074, or see the Children’s Museum web site at http://childrensmuseumofoakridge.org.
