Updated: 7/16/2010
7:28:49 PM Posted: 7/16/2010 12:55:55 PM CLEVELAND -- A 21-year Cleveland tradition moves outdoors Sunday, as the International Folk Festival takes place at Wade Oval in University Circle. It is free and open to the public.
"Here in Northeast Ohio, we have over 117 identifiable ethnic, cultural, and nationality groups and we have 16 of those countries and groups represented here," says Ken Kovach, of the International Services Center, which sponsors the Folk Festival.
The 16 groups include dancers, singers, and other nationality entertainers.
"Not only are we a nation of nations, we in Northeast Ohio are a region of nations," says Kovach. "Coming to celebrate the arts, and crafts, and cultures of these groups is who we are."
The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Wade Oval in University Circle. There is no admission charge.
Performing groups include Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Nepali, Liberian, Russian, and Croatian ensembles.
Several nationality restaurants will sell food to benefit the International Services Center, which has helped refugees and immigrants for 94 years.
Asim Datta of the ISC says, "In this day and age of globalization, we need to be able to connect everybody and anybody all over the world. And so the idea is to bring the entire world into our backyard, right here at Wade Oval on Sunday."
"Let people experience each other so we get over our suspicions, and get to know each other," said Datta. "This will do us a tremendous amount of good." (See complete article on WKYC.com)
The International Folk Festival moving to
Cleveland's Wade Oval in search of a new audience
Published: Friday, July 09, 2010, 9:00 AM Updated: Friday, July 09, 2010, 9:34 AM
by
Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer
...On Sunday, July 18, the venerable festival will break out from a long routine. The 21st edition will showcase the talent of the region's cultural communities at an outdoor spectacle at Wade Oval in University Circle. In another first, admission will be free, thanks to corporate sponsors like Nordson Corp. "We decided, 'Let's share this with a lot more people,' " said Ken Kovach, president of the board of the International Services Center, which relies on the folk festival as a major fundraiser. (Read the full article)
New Venue for IFF
Please SAVE THIS DATE for the 21st Annual INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL: Sunday, July 18, 2010 from 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM at Wade Oval in University Circle.
We have changed the location from "inside" at Playhouse Square to "outside" in University Circle.
The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
We are continuing to solicit corporate and other organizational sponsorships to make the event possible. This event has been a major opportunity to showcase the region’s multicultural heritage by bring together the "best-of-the-best" performing groups – dancers, singers, and musicians.
At the 20th Anniversary of the Folk Festival in 2009 we had the following groups: African Soul International, Chinese Music Ensemble, Cleveland Firefighter Memorial Pipe Band, Kashtan Ukrainian Dancers, McCarthy Irish Academy of Dance, "Piast" Polish Dance Ensemble, Ritmo Y Raza Dance Company, and St. Haralambros Hellenic Dancers. This year we have over 16 groups (as of 7/9/2010) on the program!