The World of Montgomery’s 10th annual festival is upon us. Coming Sunday, October 21, at Montgomery College Rockville, DMV area residents and
visitors can discover, enjoy and appreciate the diversity this area has
helped mold over time.
Montgomery County, one of only a few counties in the United States with a
majority-minority demographic, hosts the festival every year with thousands
who turn out to understand and recognize the cultures from all over the
world. The festival has a theme every year where people from respective
countries demonstrate their cultures in relation to the theme. This year,
it’s “Light.”
People from different countries are invited every year to present fresh and
various things. One culture new this year is Iraq, that will incorporate
the magic lamp from “Aladdin,” which originated in the country.
A country returning this year is Thailand, introducing the activity
Krathong making. Krathong is a vessel full of offering and candles that
people from Thailand float on water during the Loi Krathong festival, the
area’s festival of lights where they show appreciation for the water
goddess Pra Mae Khongkha.
One highlight of the World of Montgomery which brings all of the countries
together is the Parade of Cultures. Here, participants and performers wear
traditional attire and show off their culture’s dances. The parade includes
percussion rhythms by traditional African drummers and Latin American and
Asian dancers. It concludes at the main stage, where local government
officials and sponsors reinforce the importance of multicultural acceptance
to make Montgomery County a welcoming community.
Performers from individual countries will showcase their talents on a stage
at the festival, which will also be broadcast on Montgomery College
Television. Last year, there was a Korean fan dance, where the female
dancers used gestures and movements to express emotions in relation to
nature.
The World of Montgomery festival is part of the KID Museum’s continual
effort to promote individual diversity and global citizenship, a crucial
component of their year-round and maker-based cultural programming. The
museum partnered with the county and Montgomery College, among many other
sponsors, to reach out to local organizations and embassies to get people
from different backgrounds to demonstrate their cultures with interactive
or hands-on activities.
Although the KID Museum tailors many maker-based cultural activities toward
children, there are things to engage and entertain parents as well. Two
examples that were popular with parents included the Ethiopian coffee
tasting and India’s Henna painting.
The manager of cultural programs, Dya Ishak, moved to the United States
from Indonesia as a cultural enthusiast. She says that as an enthusiast,
she has connected to many cultural organizations all over the DMV area. She
adds that it is rewarding to see how hard individual embassies and
organizations prepare for the festival, happy to have their culture be
accepted as part of it.
Ishak notes that many of the embassies sacrifice a lot of their time and
money to import things from their home country in order to bring them to
the World of Montgomery festival. By seeing all of these pieces come
together for their presentations, Ishak feels motivated to learn about the
different cultures, making her respect each culture more and more.
Ishak also works with embassies during the year for monthly cultural
programs at the KID Museum that are held from fall to spring. Recent
examples include Oman Day in January and Taiwan Day in May.
One of the great takeaways from the World of Montgomery festival, according
to Ishak, is that children become more accepting of each other’s
differences.
“Our differences should bring us together,” Ishak said in an interview with
Montgomery College Television last year. “We should teach kids to respect
differences, and that’s what the festival is all about: bringing people
together.”
