The fifth annual Multicultural Family Fair is from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Lynnwood Convention Center.
| Multicultural Family Fair: Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St. SW, Lynnwood; 425-670-8984, ext. 4.
Doug Smith: 6:30 p.m. Saturday; Lakewood High School Theatre, 17023 11th Ave. NE, Arlington.$15. 425-344-3126. “Poetry Death Match”: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Mill Creek Library, 15429 Bothell-Everett Highway, Mill Creek; 425-337-4822. |
Sponsored by the Family Support Center of South Snohomish County, the free event offers family-friendly entertainment and activities and highlights the diversity in the community.
More than 4,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event, an increase of more than 3,500 from the fair’s first year, said Pam Graham, program coordinator of the Family Support Center of South Snohomish County.
“It’s a family-friendly environment to expose family members to different cultures,” Graham said.
The community-building event allows participants an opportunity to learn about their neighbors and exposes them to a wide variety of cultural traditions and customs.
Forty-four exhibition booths featuring interactive elements will focus on various cultures represented locally, including American Indian, Chinese and African American.
Three professional artists will demonstrate their cultural crafts, including soapstone carving by Eskimo Fred Fevier, Chinese knot-tying by Catherline Lo Wong, and fabric art projects with African quilt-maker Gwen Maxwell Williams.
Some of this year’s performers are Hilltop Heritage Dancers from Hilltop School in Lynnwood. More than 30 costumed dancers will perform several styles of European folk dancing. The Khmer Youth Dancers, a Cambodian dance troupe, will perform in traditional costume. Sevdah, a Bosnian dance ensemble, consists of 25 to 30 intergenerational performers. Additional dance styles represented are East Indian, Korean, Hawaiian and African.
New to the fair is Latin American cultural fashions, featuring traditional clothing from Central and South America.
An American Indian invocation will open the event. Cher Ketah, a member of the American Indian Student Association at Edmonds Community College, performs the traditional American Indian ceremonial custom.
Ethnic food demonstrations take place every half-hour beginning at 12:30 p.m. The demonstrations are compliments of the Culinary Arts Department at Edmonds Community College. Students of the department will distribute recipe cards and free samples.
“It’s a safe place to ask questions about other cultures and to correct misconceptions about other cultures,” Graham said.
“It’s a place where we can celebrate differences.”
Additional sponsors include the city of Lynnwood, Lynnwood Convention Center, Lynnwood Public Facilities District, Community Mobilization, Interfaith Association of Snohomish County, Korean Women’s Association, (Lynnwood) Enterprise Newspaper and Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
Grammy winner at benefit: Grammy Award-winner Doug Smith performs at a scholarship benefit concert at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Lakewood High School Theatre.
Smith, an acoustic guitarist from Portland, Ore., won a Grammy in February in the Pop Instrumental Album category for his and 11 others’ contributions on the “Henry Mancini Pink Guitar” CD. The album was a tribute inspired by the 40th anniversary of the Peter Sellers’ movie “The Pink Panther,” for which Mancini composed the memorable and catchy theme song.
Smith’s original style combines woven texture with strong melody to create a contemporary fingerstyle acoustic folk, classical and jazz sounds.
The event, hosted by Lakewood Education Foundation and Victory Music, is sponsored by North County Bank of Smokey Point.
Slam: Teens and adults are invited to Northwest Spokenword Lab’s “SPLAB On-the-Road Presents Poetry Death Match” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Mill Creek Library.
Paul Nelson of the group battles David Rizzi in a spoken word poetry slam demonstration. After the slam, Nelson and Rizzi lead a discussion and writing games designed to give new ideas to teens and adults who already write and expose beginners to writing. Novice to experienced writers are invited to attend.
Participants arriving at 6:30 p.m. can eat some free pizza.
The Northwest Spokenword Lab is an intergenerational spoken word performance, resource and outreach center based in Auburn.
Doug Smith performs at a benefit concert Saturday in Lakewood.
Herald photos
ABOVE: Morganne Johnston steals a peek at her mom in the audience as she performs with the Hilltop Dancers at last year’s multicultural fair.
LEFT: Itsuko Ichimura (left) and Chizuko Sauter attend last year’s multicultural fair.
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