Enriching one’s self in the vibrant cultures of a surrounding community is an opportunity like no other. On Oct. 14, students, families and community members celebrated the 22nd annual Irvine Global Village Festival at the Great Park.
With over 100 different activities, the festival welcomed a large crowd where attendees could experience various cultural dances, unique traditional recipes and festival games throughout the day.
“Seeing so many people of different backgrounds gathering to celebrate each other and their cultures was a really insightful experience for me,” junior Casey Au said. “I felt seen and it really felt like every culture and person was valued there.
Since its beginning in 2002, Every Irvine Global Village Festival has consistently represented a variety of cultures coexisting in the city. Each year, more members of the community have gathered to celebrate not only culture but history, art and social life in the city.
This year’s festival had entertainment such as Bollywood dance, martial arts workshops and Scottish bagpipe music.
At the All-Japan booth, Northwood’s Japanese Student Association volunteers aided with diverse activities like kimono wearing, calligraphy and origami throughout the day. Activities were also focused on eheme, a less known prefecture of Japan.
“It was great to share my culture with different people,” JSA vice president Koyo Tanaka said. “One of my favorite parts was when people tried out traditional Japanese calligraphy, Shuji.”
The increased representation of diverse cultures has also been seen through added clubs hoping to celebrate different cultures on Northwood’s campus like JSA, seen through the Black Student Union, Kai club and Polynesian club.
Events like the Global Village Festival help foster celebrations of diversity throughout Irvine schools as well, shedding light on student’s heritage and encouraging them to do the same for others.
To learn more about various culture booths that were represented at this year’s Global Village Festival, visit https://www.cityofirvine.org/irvine-global-village-festival.
