Every year I have wanted to go to a culture festival in Gilbert and now that I have a toddler I figured it was meant to be. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce different cultures and ideas to my child. It’s a family event that highlighted different cultures and kid friendly activities. Their mission is to create opportunities for individuals and communities to celebrate share and sustain the arts and the rich cultural traditions of countries from around the world.
I packed the diaper bag with snacks and plenty of water and headed to Civic Center Drive. There were tons of blow-up cultural landmarks such as pyramids, buildings, and animals. There were people walking around in different cultural garbs. We saw about four different people dressed as day of the dead, Frida Kahlo, and Miss. Native Arizona.
So many booths with children crafts, musical instruments, and information about each respective culture. On the three main stages there were opportunities to learn traditional and contemporary forms of dance and music. In addition there were children’s activities, arts & crafts and ethnic foods from different countries.
Lena enjoyed playing drums, walking around the tee-pee, dancing to cultural music, and the cowgirls. My personal favorite was learning through music. Different performers would teach you words in their language and allow you to participate in the song. For older children they had a passport activity where you followed a map to different booths and completed activities to get stamps in your “passport”.
Experiencing this was a great way to start bringing culture to my daughter Lena. There are many more ways we can start introducing different cultures at a young age that you can do at home, but here are just a few.
- Look on the calendar and find a holiday you don’t know. Learn about it, and celebrate with your family
- Get out a map and close your eyes and point! Learn something new about the place you’ve chosen.
- Learn a skill that is representative of a different culture. Bead work, pottery, cooking, origami, or clothing.
Have fun, be kind and learn something new!