Officials hope ethnic music, dance and food will unite community
By LAUREN ROMANO
VIEW STAFF WRITER
SPECIAL TO VIEWSpanish dancers will perform Saturday at the Festival of Cultures.
The first Henderson Festival of Cultures will feature a variety of groups performing ethnic dances, including ones from the Middle East. The festival will be held Saturday at the Henderson Events Plaza on Water Street.SPECIAL TO VIEW
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With about 5,000 people moving to the valley every month, they can't all be from California.
Families from all over the world call Las Vegas their home, and Nevada State College and the Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism want the community to come out and meet their international neighbors.
"We wanted to have a celebration of our community," said Rene Cantu, vice president of multicultural affairs at Nevada State College.
The first Henderson Festival of Cultures will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Henderson Events Plaza, located in the Water Street District in downtown Henderson.
Nevada State College started a campus-wide heritage festival in 2005 and wanted to involve the entire city this year.
"We partnered (with Nevada State College) to see if we could expand the festival and reach more people," said Sally Ahlstedt, program coordinator with the Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism.
The cultural experiences will include live performances by local musicians and dancers, exhibits and cuisine from all over the world. More than 20 acts come from places including Ireland, Africa, Peru, Spain, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Ukraine and Hawaii.
There will be Egyptian belly dancing, African storytelling, Flamenco dancing and many other performances throughout the day.
"Las Vegas and Henderson are international cities," Cantu said. "We live in a community where we don't know our neighbors. We want people to see who lives here and interact."
A make-and-take activity area will be set up where children can design origami and Hawaiian leis.
The event is free and open to the public.
"A lot of us don't realize how many different cultures live and work here," Ahlstedt said. "This will help to give people a better feel for how rich our culture is."
Food will be available for purchase from El Jeffe's Mexican restaurant, Taste of Asia and The Slice, a pizzeria. There also will be Native and Southern American cuisine, as well as hamburgers and hot dogs. Lee's Discount Liquor will have a Beers of the World booth for anyone looking for a tasting experience.
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