Community Days embraces diversity
CRANBERRY TWP — People attending Community Days this past weekend not only got a taste of fun and community, but also a taste of culture.
Ethnic groups came together to celebrate and share their sense of culture to the township with “Our Diverse Neighbors.”
“It's an expression of people,” said Austrian artist Marike Vuga. “We're all the same people, just with different expressions.”
Nine food booths and 17 culture booths representing countries and cultures surrounded the volleyball courts at the community park.
Vuga had homemade Austrian Stone Age-style pottery on display. The pottery cups and necklaces are created on an open fire, many of them bearing the national Austrian flower, the edelweiss.
“It's a very ancient technique,” Vuga said.
Seungku (Steve) Park, director of the language center at Slippery Rock University, was at the festival sharing his knowledge of South Korea.
“The first thing people think about when they think about Asians is Chinese or Japanese,” he said. “Korea is totally different.”
Park had travel guides, South Korean snacks and native drums in his booth for people to play.
He said events like Community Days help educate people more on different cultures, especially with the growth of Cranberry Township in recent years.
“It's one of the fastest growing areas in terms of diversity,” he said. “I'm glad we could have the opportunity to introduce the community to diversity.”
Not all cultures came from outside the United States though. American Indians from different tribes also were there.The Seneca Nation of Indians and Native American Many Nations Singers teamed to host booths, selling food and souvenirs like dream catchers and necklaces.Among the several tribes represented at the festival were Seneca, Cherokee, Tuscarora and Navajo.Danielle Wanner, a descendant of the Cattauragas reservation from the Seneca tribe, said events like Community Days educate children more than anything else.“This is more of a school setting for children especially,” she said of the festival. “Native American history is not taught much in schools anymore.”Entertainment from different cultures also was provided, including the Pittsburgh-based Latin dance group Latina Productions and the nationally certified Bell School of Irish Dance.A Japanese origami table was set up for people to create paper animals.“I like it. This is my first time,” festivalgoer Kim Grossman said.Grossman and her husband, Keith, stopped by the table to work on origami art.Kim Grossman said she would like to see similar events in the future.Our Diverse Neighbors Chairman Charles Hawkins said the celebration has been a success in sharing tastes of cultures with the community.Hawkins said he and about 20 volunteers along with the Cranberry Area Diversity Network, Sister Cities and the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau started planning in late April.“The township was fantastic,” he said. “It's nice to see people be able to come to the park and enjoy diversity in terms of food and cultural booths.”
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