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Ethnic fest to bring world to Northland
By Ray Weikal
Northlanders can take a virtual tour of the world this weekend and never leave Kansas City.
The annual Northland Ethnic Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5, at Park Hill High School. It is free and open to the public.
Sharen Hunt is a youth specialist and county program director with the Platte County University of Missouri Extension Center. She is also one of the festival organizers. It’s a chance for community members to celebrate the many different cultures represented by area residents, Hunt said.
“Our goal is to increase the awareness of diversity in the Northland,” she said.
More than three dozen countries from every continent except Australia and Antarctica will be represented at the festival, Hunt said. The day will include a variety of food vendors, music, dance and activities for kids, all with an ethnic flavor.
This year’s program includes many area students, including a food booth run by the Winnetonka High School FCCLA and Park Hill High School’s drill team.
This is the festival’s fifth year. It started with a phone call from Hunt to Park Hill School District Communications Director Nicole Kirby.
“She had this great idea about having a Northland ethnic festival,” Kirby said. “It was something we dreamed up and we’ve been working on it ever since. It’s a great way to expose our community to the cultures that we have right here.”
Hunt was inspired by her experience with the Kansas City Ethnic Festival, sponsored every August in Swope Park by the Ethnic Enrichment Commission of Kansas City. It proved hard to get Northland residents to visit the festival, so Hunt decided to bring the festival to them.
“I thought it would be nice to have this up north,” Hunt said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for the Northland to have this. It’s been wonderful.”
The ethnic enrichment commission was formed in 1980 by then-mayor Richard Berkley, according to the group’s Web site. It was created “to foster understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity in the greater Kansas City area.” Commission members include representatives of 66 nations and ethnic groups.
Grants from the Kansas City Tourism Board and Platte County Parks and Recreation Department allows the festival to be free of charge, Hunt said. In the past, more than a 1,000 people have visited the event, both Hunt and Kirby said.
“We expect 1,500 visitors this year,” Hunt said. “We hope for a few more.”
One of the more popular festival activities will be returning, Kirby added. The Northland Genealogical Society and Mid-Continent Public Library-Midwest Genealogy Center will once again be available for people to research their family histories.
“I think it’s always been important to appreciate one’s own ethnic background,” Hunt said.
When: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5
Where: Park Hill High School gym, 7701 N.W. Barry Road, Kansas City North
Performance schedule:
- 11 a.m. — Park Hill High School Drill Team
- 11:15 a.m. — Peru
- 11:30 a.m. — Scotland
- 12:15 p.m. — Cellifish and Deep C Bass (music)
- 12:30 p.m. — China
- 12:55 p.m. — Mexico
- 1:20 p.m. — Germany
- 1:45 p.m. — Israel
- 2:10 p.m. — Morocco
- 2:35 p.m. — India
- 3 p.m. — Germany
Outside performances: Banet El Shamal (Middle Eastern and North African dancing), Native Americans, global chalk mural drawing
Food vendors: India, Korea, Peru, Germany, Winnetonka High School FCCLA, Denmark, Finland and Ukraine
Craft vendors/displays: Northland Genealogical Society, Mid-Continent Public Library, Guatemala Project of St. Charles Church, Indian Council of Many Nations, Salaams’ Designer Gifts, People to People, Northland Diversity Council
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.
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The annual Northland Ethnic Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5, at Park Hill High School. It is free and open to the public.
Sharen Hunt is a youth specialist and county program director with the Platte County University of Missouri Extension Center. She is also one of the festival organizers. It’s a chance for community members to celebrate the many different cultures represented by area residents, Hunt said.
“Our goal is to increase the awareness of diversity in the Northland,” she said.
More than three dozen countries from every continent except Australia and Antarctica will be represented at the festival, Hunt said. The day will include a variety of food vendors, music, dance and activities for kids, all with an ethnic flavor.
This year’s program includes many area students, including a food booth run by the Winnetonka High School FCCLA and Park Hill High School’s drill team.
This is the festival’s fifth year. It started with a phone call from Hunt to Park Hill School District Communications Director Nicole Kirby.
“She had this great idea about having a Northland ethnic festival,” Kirby said. “It was something we dreamed up and we’ve been working on it ever since. It’s a great way to expose our community to the cultures that we have right here.”
Hunt was inspired by her experience with the Kansas City Ethnic Festival, sponsored every August in Swope Park by the Ethnic Enrichment Commission of Kansas City. It proved hard to get Northland residents to visit the festival, so Hunt decided to bring the festival to them.
“I thought it would be nice to have this up north,” Hunt said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for the Northland to have this. It’s been wonderful.”
The ethnic enrichment commission was formed in 1980 by then-mayor Richard Berkley, according to the group’s Web site. It was created “to foster understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity in the greater Kansas City area.” Commission members include representatives of 66 nations and ethnic groups.
Grants from the Kansas City Tourism Board and Platte County Parks and Recreation Department allows the festival to be free of charge, Hunt said. In the past, more than a 1,000 people have visited the event, both Hunt and Kirby said.
“We expect 1,500 visitors this year,” Hunt said. “We hope for a few more.”
One of the more popular festival activities will be returning, Kirby added. The Northland Genealogical Society and Mid-Continent Public Library-Midwest Genealogy Center will once again be available for people to research their family histories.
“I think it’s always been important to appreciate one’s own ethnic background,” Hunt said.
When: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5
Where: Park Hill High School gym, 7701 N.W. Barry Road, Kansas City North
Performance schedule:
- 11 a.m. — Park Hill High School Drill Team
- 11:15 a.m. — Peru
- 11:30 a.m. — Scotland
- 12:15 p.m. — Cellifish and Deep C Bass (music)
- 12:30 p.m. — China
- 12:55 p.m. — Mexico
- 1:20 p.m. — Germany
- 1:45 p.m. — Israel
- 2:10 p.m. — Morocco
- 2:35 p.m. — India
- 3 p.m. — Germany
Outside performances: Banet El Shamal (Middle Eastern and North African dancing), Native Americans, global chalk mural drawing
Food vendors: India, Korea, Peru, Germany, Winnetonka High School FCCLA, Denmark, Finland and Ukraine
Craft vendors/displays: Northland Genealogical Society, Mid-Continent Public Library, Guatemala Project of St. Charles Church, Indian Council of Many Nations, Salaams’ Designer Gifts, People to People, Northland Diversity Council
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.