To celebrate its rich history of cultural diversity, Irvine hosted its 22nd annual Global Village Festival on Oct. 14, where vendors, performers and diverse community members gathered in the Great Park for a day of multicultural fun and festivities, according to the City of Irvine.
Performances were a staple of the Global Village Festival, many of which featured various cultural dance styles. One such style was the ethnic Chinese Daiya dance, which freshman Annie Xiao performed with the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California. Xiao said she was happy to be able to influence the community even on stage.
“It’s really nice when the audience members interact with us specifically,” Xiao said. “It’s nice to know that we’re bringing the community together, especially because a lot of Irvine is Chinese-American.”
In addition to performances, there were many booths selling ethnic clothing and other cultural handiwork set up at the festival, such as the Baskets and Beads by Artisans of Kenya booth run by Eldonna Fernandez. The booth displayed jewelry, jars and keychains crafted with colorful beads, as well as traditional Kenyan dresses handmade by 30 women in Kenya.
“I’m happy to be part of [the festival] and get to share the stories of the ladies in Kenya and showcase some of their products and enable people to see them, purchase them and take them home,” Fernandez said.
Aside from the performers and vendors, volunteers contributed to the festival as well. High school members of the Youth Action Team volunteered for different festival activities such as mural painting for the Harvest Food Bank, and by doing so, they were able to bring meaningful experiences to others as well as themselves, according to YAT member and sophomore Suah Yang.
“Last year, I got to volunteer at a booth for kids, and I got to interact with them and it was really fun,” Yang said. “And I’m Korean — well, Korean American — and I’ve seen a bunch of booths where they have Korean food and all these different activities that make me feel represented, and that’s really cool.”
For future celebration events, Great Park will be hosting the 41st annual Holiday Faire on Nov. 4, featuring festive decorations created by local artists for sale to welcome the approaching holiday season.
