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World FairField International Festival to return Nov. 16
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – After a six-year hiatus, the World FairField International Festival is back.
The event, which showcases the town’s cosmopolitan character, will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16 at the fieldhouse east of Maharishi School. This is a change of venue from when the event was held in Central Park in 2018 and 2019, before the pandemic put a stop to it.
The festival will include country exhibits where guests can learn about that country, often staffed by people from it. Each booth will have a sticker showing the flag of its country, and children will be given “passports” so they can collect stickers from all the countries represented. Thus far, organizers have received confirmation that close to 30 countries will have their own booths, including Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Moldova, Bhutan, India, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines, Egypt and more.
The booths are just a portion of the festival, which will also feature live music and dancing, beginning with a Native American invocation and song courtesy of Judi and Ed Fox. Also performing that day will be the Maharishi Lower School choir, a song and dance from India, Fonziba drummers, Tim Britton, a Latin dance, and the event’s featured performers at 2 p.m.: the Baraka Band with Amine Kouider, Karen Aoki, Jimmy Moore, and Eric Hurlin.
Guests won’t leave the festival on an empty stomach, either, because they will have several food vendors to choose from such as Addis Ethiopian, Scream Ice Cream, and vendors selling Indian food, pizza, and roasted chestnuts.
Organizers are still taking registrations for booths, so if you’d like to show off your country, email worldfairfield@maharishischool.org. There’s even prize money for the best booths. First place will get $100, and second place (two awards) will get $75, and third place (three awards) will get $50. Booths will be judged on their creativity and originality, whether they are colorful, attractive and alluring, and how well they communicate the country’s culture.
This year’s event is made possible by four sponsors: Fairfield Cultural Alliance, Everybody’s Whole Foods, Maharishi International University and Maharishi School.
Richard Beall, the former Head of Maharishi School who was instrumental in organizing the festivals in 2018 and 2019, said he’s looking forward to this year’s event for several reasons, including a chance to show off the renovated fieldhouse that Fairfield residents may not have entered for a long time. The building suffered from a leaky roof that required patching, plus repairing the floor and ceiling, which is now complete. Beall said the venue is used in several ways such as hosting the school’s P.E. classes, MIU’s new intercollegiate athletic competitions, and community events such as skating and birthday parties.
Beall said those considering hosting a table at the event should know that booths can be as elaborate or as simple as they wish.
“It means a lot to people to be able to share their culture,” he said. “It’s such an enlightening opportunity for our community to understand the blessing of cultural diversity, and to take a little world tour in our own backyard.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
