Ethnic Cleveland eNews
August 23, 2022
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The big news this week is One World Day (OWD) this Sunday August 28 from 11AM – 6 PM in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. Tens of thousands of people representing the 120 or so ethnic heritages in Cleveland and NEO will gather for this 76th annual event. Currently there are about 35 established Gardens with another dozen or so in the works and about 15 more communities showing serious interest. All will have activities! You can find all the details at the website but let me list a few things.
It is easier to get to One World Day and park than you may think. For most it’s best to take I90 (east or west) and get off at Exit 177-Martin Luther King Jr Dr. (signs for Cultural Gardens, University Circle). Details here.
Lots of volunteers and signage will steer you to the two main free parking lots. There will be Shuttle buses to take you to OWD (and back to your car) with numerous stopping spots. Look for passenger golf carts if you need a ride and there will be SPIN scooter throughout OWD. Free school busses will continuously cycle through the Gardens – both MLK and East Blvd. all the way to the Chinese Garden which is farther south – so look for the many bus stop signs and hop on.
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At 11 AM there will be an inspiring Naturalization Ceremony at the Centennial Plaza where dozens of people from all over the world will become citizens.
A highlight of OWD is the Parade of Flags which will step off at noon in the Serbian Garden (north) and march down MLK to the Croatian Garden. There will be a brief pause at the Centennial Plaza as our 4 TV news MCs (Kelly Dobeck (Ch. 19 meteorologist), Danielle Wiggins (Ch. 3 morning anchor), Tracy Carloss (Ch. 5 weekend anchor) and Maia Belay (Ch. 8 reporter) introduce the units.
The Parade will be led by a Color Guard with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the Police and Fire Chiefs. The Grand Marshal is Magnificent 7 Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu. In tribute, the Ukrainian community will lead the parade. Expect colorful costumes, flags, bagpipes – even Irish Wolfhounds!
Kids should pick up a Passport and have it stamped at gardens they visit. When they turn it in they will receive a “I traveled the world at One World Day” t-shirt.
Speaking of Kids… the popular Children’s Village will again be in the Italian Garden and include activities, games, musical instruments, storytelling, free books and the return of the Gaelic Glen Alpacas!
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Gardens will have food from their culture or a food truck/vendor will be stationed there. This includes some new additions featuring food from the Philippines, Egypt, Mexico and more – as well as ice cream and more traditional foods.
Besides the popular Beer Garden in the German Garden on East Blvd. there will be another Beer Garden in the Irish Garden serving Irish favorites.
There will be continuous entertainment options throughout the day – in the Gardens and on the main stage. Here is the schedule
Whew! There is a lot more but you get the idea.
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Be sure to stop at the ClevelandPeople.com table, right in the middle across from the Centennial Plaza on MLK. Look for our large maps and come place a sticker on the place(s) of your heritage.
At the end of OWD the maps will be a colorful representation of Cleveland’s ethnic heritage diversity.
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We are honored to have Dominique Moceanu as the Grand Marshal of the Parade of Flags. She is excited too, calling the Parade “a kind of mini Olympics Opening Ceremony.”
At the young age of 13 she became the youngest US Senior National Champion in American gymnastics history. Then, of course, she was part of the Magnificent Seven that won the gold medal for the US for the first time in 1996. She was the youngest member of the gold-medal-winning 1996 Olympics team and, in fact, she was the last gymnast to compete legally in the Olympics at the age of 14.
In recent years she has also spoken out and even testified to the US Senate about the abuses in gymnastics. She runs the Dominique Moceanu Gymnastics Center and Carmen’s Yoga Studio. Dominque is of Romanian and Greek/Macedonian heritage. Watch our interview with Dominique below.
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Stars of Summer International Music Competition |
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The 3rd annual Stars of Summer International Vocal and Piano Competition and Festival was held last Saturday. It began with students of the School of Cleveland Ballet who performed Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. They performed outside on the stage of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Centennial Peace Plaza just as the rain started to fall. The rest of the concert was moved inside to St. Casimir Church Hall.
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I was amazed by the talent of these very young kids. Supportive parents, excellent teachers and dedicated kids produced these “stars.” (What was I doing at age 12? Gulp). The always generous and supportive immigration attorney Margaret Wong supplied the grand prize for the competition. Congratulations to producer Olga Druzhinina and supporters including Svetlana Stolyarova and Dozia Krislaty.
Besides the amazing performances by the young people and the Cleveland Stars Orchestra led by Lisa Goldman there was a very special guest. Composer Alexander Peskanov came in from New York for the Cleveland premiere of his Ukrainian Concerto #2.
The 3 movements of the concerto were performed by the 3 winners of the piano competition along with the Cleveland Stars Orchestra. All I can say is Wow! Videos and photos will be posted (probably not till after OWD) but here is a brief interview I did with Composer Peskanov who hails from Odessa Ukraine. He explains the inspiration behind the piece.
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Sts Constantine & Helen Greek Festival
My plans for St. Maron’s Middle Eastern Food Festival and St Mary’s Romanian Festival got rained out but luckily I made it to Sts Constantine & Helen Greek Festival.
The food, music, dancing, culture, church tours and camaraderie make this a must-do each summer.
A highlight was the dances performed by both the Junior and Senior Hellenic Dancers. Here is a sample of a dance from a region of northern Thrace and southern Bulgaria.
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I also enjoyed the tour of the beautiful Cathedral. I had no idea that St Helen was the mother of St. Constantine and what an influential person he was until Father Tom told the story.
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Hidden Treasure no more?
For decades people have called the Cleveland Cultural Gardens a “hidden treasure.” With 30,000 or so attendees at One World Day and dozens of events throughout the year we are working hard to remove that word “hidden.” We greatly appreciate the support of media partners who help spread the word.
For example, Kenny Crumpton of the popular Kickin’ it with Kenny show on Fox 8 dedicated the entire morning to OWD yesterday. We were able to showcase some of the diversity people will experience with segments featuring the Rusyn and Pakistani communities, a Klezmer band from the Hebrew Garden, a Puerto Rican empanada food truck who will be at OWD and more. Watch the videos from the morning
Similarly there have been appearances on Good Company and We the People with Leon Bibb among others. We greatly appreciate all the ethnic radio shows and publications as well as the mainstream media for their coverage and support. We are posting our media coverage here.
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Italian Film Festival
Thursday August 25
Cedar Lee Theater
7:30 PM
Award winning films from Italy with English subtitles. “Il Mostro” - Comedy- Prepare yourself to cry from laughing so hard at what many say is the funniest film Benigni has ever made and a great comedy on the order of Chaplin, Katon and Sellers. For further questions please call: 216. 456. 8117
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Annual Egyptian Festival
August 26-28
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Cleveland
2100 East Pleasant Valley Road Seven Hills, 44131
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Ukrainian Village Parade and Festival
August 27
11 AM
Ukrainian Village Parma.
Parade begins at 11 a.m. at Grantwood, ends at Ukrainian Heritage Park across from St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
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Hispanic UMADAOP Street Fair
August 27 - 10 AM - 2 PM
3305 W.25th Street Cleveland, 44109
Annual Hispanic UMADAOP Street Fair to bring awareness about the current opioid crisis and connect the community with local resources.
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75 years of India's Independence
FICA invites you all to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence with One World Day at Cleveland Cultural Garden. One World Day is the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946. Please come with your family and friends to enjoy ethnic food/music at India Cultural Gardens. Participate in Parade of Flags in your ethnic outfits to showcase India's Unity in Diversity. Parade of Flags starts at noon. We will be hoisting our flag and sing our national anthem in the garden at 1:00 PM.
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Pundemics - More Breaking News
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At Miami International Airport today, an individual, later discovered to be a school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a compass, a protractor, and a slide rule. Authorities believe he is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement which has struck terror into the lives of many for generations. He is being charged with carrying weapons of math instruction.
Breaking News: A truck loaded with Vicks vapor rub overturned on the highway. Amazingly, there was no congestion for eight hours.
Breaking News: NASA announces Mars Rover discovered new feline-like life form on the Red Planet. Unfortunately, it ran over the newly discovered creature. Yes, it seems Curiosity killed the cat.
Breaking News: There’s been a kidnapping at a Cleveland elementary school today. It’s ok, he woke up.
Breaking News: A movie theatre has just been robbed of over two thousand dollars.
The thieves took a large soda and two bags of popcorn
Ba da dum
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Postscript: The weather forecast is good so I hope to see many of you at One World Day Sunday.
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