Thousands of people grabbed a passport and toured the globe at the 9th annual World of Montgomery Festival. The festival highlighted ‘harvest’ with food, dance, costume, ceremony, and family activities, in a celebration of the many cultures of Montgomery County.
While harvest celebrations are shared around the world, each country’s traditions remain unique. At the World of Montgomery Festival, attendees were invited to take part in these traditions — making floating flowers to celebrate the rice harvest in Thailand, playing the harvest game jegichagi from Korea and Festival de Maiz corn games from El Salvador, and pestling seeds from grain with China. The festival-goers’ world tour included India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, Jamaica, and Barbados.
KID Museum harvested community by bringing people together to build (and play) leather-topped drums, and help weave a community basket of brightly-colored cloth. Children were invited to create a shared mosaic using harvested materials like rice, beans, and wheat. And KID Museum’s Gratitude Wall was a growing tree of the many things people are thankful for.
Performances on two stages provoked impromptu audience participation, from shaking shoulders with The Great Ethiopian Cultural Band (and amazing dancers), to jumping on stage to learn Bollywood dancing. And the ever-popular Parade of Nations had festival-goers cheering and clapping to the dancing, music, Chinese dragon, and more as it streamed through the grounds.
You don’t have to wait until next year for more international fun. Join us every month at KID Museum for Cultural Days to explore different traditions through hands-on maker activities and cultural performances. Up next is Kids Euro Festival, Mexico Day, and Oman Day. Learn more.
