Fifty years of unity through diversity. That’s the theme for this year’s A World A'Fair, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Event organizers said the international festival celebrates our shared humanity through music, dance, food, and friendship.
Wendy Middleton is the secretary of Dayton International Festival, which is the parent organization that produces the festival. She told WYSO’s Mike Frazier why people should come to the event.
This transcript was lightly edited for clarity.
Wendy Middleton: It's the best way to eat and drink your way around the world for three days and get to experience some cultures that are local right here in Dayton without any travel necessary. The Miami Valley is very lucky to have such a rich and diverse population from a variety of cultures and countries and ethnic communities from around the world, and they all call the Miami Valley home.
Mike Frazier: What was the catalyst for A World A’Fair 50-odd years ago?
Middleton: It started at the University of Dayton, and there was a professor who had a number of international students in his programs, and he decided to, toward the end of the school year, put together a festival where they could all celebrate their individual cultures and share food and ethnic dress and music. And it was just a small community celebration amongst students and it grew from there.
Frazier: When will it be held and where?
Middleton: Festival dates are May 1 through 3 and we are open starting Friday at 5 p.m. And the hours vary throughout the weekend, but we wrap up on Sunday at 6 pm. And we're out at the Green County Expo Center in Xenia.
Frazier: Are there tickets and how much are tickets?
Middleton: There are tickets available online now for pre-sale, the pre-sell price right now is $9 for adults and $6 for seniors and children ages 5 and under are free. For military members, the pre-sale price is good for them throughout the entire flexible weekend.
Frazier: Do you think the Dayton A World A’Fair has more significance in the current political or social climate than perhaps in years past?
Middleton: I think it does. I think it's important for everyone to come together as a community and show that we are stronger when we stand together and that what unites us is stronger with our diversity.
"I get to take my children around the world, so to speak, in a weekend and teach them about the ways other cultures look at the same things that we look at."
Our cultural theme this year is 50 Years of Unity Through Diversity, and we feel very strongly that we only make each other better by learning about each other's cultures and how things are done differently, and also how things are very similar between us and we think that it's important for our community to experience that now more than ever.
Frazier: What does A World A’Fair mean to you?
Middleton: A World A’Fair to me means, especially as a parent now, I get to take my children around the world, so to speak, in a weekend and teach them about the ways other cultures look at the same things that we look at. And it gives them an opportunity to grow in those areas without having to actually get on a plane and travel the world, and I get to pass that on to them and it makes me excited to see other families exploring the cultural displays around the festival and trying foods that they've never tried and people always find something that they are surprised about and excited to learn about, and that makes my heart sing.
Frazier: So it sounds like you would obviously encourage parents to bring their kids to this festival.
Middleton: Absolutely. And the little ones love the children's passport that they get when they walk in the door. They like going to the different countries and getting stamps on their passports. And we have an interactive stage with traditional music and dance. And the countries have audience participation and we'll teach those dances or let the kids bang on the taiko drums and things like that, and it's a lot of fun.
We run two stages of entertainment throughout the entire festival and we're excited to welcome some guest performers this year. We're going to have Father Son And Friends come out and play with us, The Squad, which is a local reggae band. We have GOREE Drum and Dance company coming to perform the festival from Columbus, and All Chinese Dragons are making another performance at the festival this year as well.
Frazier: So it's music, food, and dancing. Sounds like a good time.
Middleton: It's a great time.
Dayton International Festival is a financial supporter of WYSO.
