Arts and Entertainment

New Kensington to showcase its culture and diversity at international festival

Dancing and singing, arts and crafts, bilingual readings highlight family event

Cultural diversity abounds as kids receive passports to visit the seven continents in the Penn State New Kensington Athletics Center during the first International Children's Festival. Credit: Bill Woodard / Penn StateCreative Commons

UPPER BURRELL, Pa. — The diversity of Penn State New Kensington comes to the forefront at the first International Children’s Festival from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, in the campus Athletics Center. The theme of the festival is “Different Colors, Different Cultures, One World.”

Students, faculty and staff will showcase their cultures and heritages through singing and dancing performances, hands-on arts and crafts exhibits, clothing displays, bilingual readings and a bouncy ball court. The festival is geared to children, students and parents of all ages. The event is free to the public.

Children will receive a colorful wristband and a “passport,” which will be stamped with a star at each of the seven continents they can visit. Participants can get their names written in Chinese. Flags from all over the world will be on display. In addition, kids can take selfies with famous landmarks from around the world, such as the Eifel Tower, Great Wall of China and Niagara Falls.

Performances and workshops will include Taiko drumming and Steel Dragon Lion dancing from Japan, dancing from India and the Middle East, drumming and dancing performances from Africa, and a sing-a-long from Malawi, a country in southeast Africa. Wati Kumwenda, a second-year biomedical engineering technology major and native of Malawi, will lead the Karaoke-style event. Youngsters can get into the rhythm by learning to salsa at a dance workshop.

Hands-on arts, crafts and games from around the world, organized by JoAnn Wesolosky, an instructor for the campus' Kids in College summer program, will feature how to create a Pysanky egg from Eastern Europe; origami, the Japanese art of paper folding; a paper mosaic from the Middle East; and or a folk art bookmark from America. Kids and adults can design their own Guatemalan Worry Doll, Australian Aboriginal Dot Art or Mexican Piñata.

One of the craft tables is sponsored by Melba Amador, instructor in Spanish, and the campus’ Spanish Club. Amador joined the faculty in August and brought a wealth of Latino, Chicano and Latin America culture to the campus.

The “Book Nook” sessions will run throughout the day. Children's stories will be read in four languages — Spanish, German, Chinese and English — by campus students and faculty, including Chinese by Yang Zu, associate professor of business, and English by Janet Knott, nursing program coordinator. Clothing and fashion by students and faculty will highlight a variety of heritages. The campus racquetball court will house a giant global ball for kids to toss around.Diversity is the cornerstone of Chancellor Kevin Snider’s administration. Since he was appointed in 2008, the campus has become more diversified, experiencing an increase in international and African-American students and faculty. Nineteen percent of faculty and 12 percent of the student body identify themselves as being of international or African-American descent.

The festival is sponsored by the campus’ Office of Student Affairs, Diversity Team, and Student Government Association. Although most campus activities tend to favor the “traditional age” student, those from 18 to 24 years old, the children’s festival was developed with the focus on adult learners and military veterans. This group comprises approximately 25 percent of the campus student population. Many work full time while supporting a family.

“One of the main reasons for this family-friendly event is in support of the adult learners on campus,” said Theresa Bonk, director of student affairs. “Many of our events are geared toward traditional-age students. We wanted to encourage and support our older students with more family activities.”

For more information on the festival, call 724-334-6062.For a schedule of activities, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/46513.htm.

A traditional African dress to be worn on special occasions was handmade by the mother of former Penn State New Kensington student Thierry Kengne, a native of Cameroon, and presented to Theresa Bonk, director of student affairs. The elephant and bowl figurines were gifts to the campus by other international students. Credit: Bill Woodard / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated April 6, 2016

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