Cultural Melting Pot
ST. PETE INTERNATIONAL FOLK FAIR CELEBRATES 45TH YEAR.
Nowhere is St. Pete’s diverse
cultural heritage more on
display than at the annual
St. Petersburg International
Folk Fair. Better known as SPIFFS, the
festival recognizes the food, traditions,
language, music and art of the
city’s many ethnic groups. “SPIFFS is
a trip around the world without leaving
town,” says executive director Lotta
Baumann. It’s also the longest consecutively
run festival in St. Petersburg.
This year’s event, held October
24-27 at Vinoy Park, will showcase 36
different ethnic organizations, from
Greek, Bulgarian, Polish and Russian
to Ethiopian, Mongolian, Nepalese,
Chinese and the Hmong people of
Southeast Asia. The highlight of the festival
is a grand parade of nations, culminating
in a swearing-in ceremony with
new American citizens.
“Today more than ever, we need to
recognize and celebrate our diversity as
a nation,” says Baumann. “With SPIFFS,
we are raising awareness, promoting
tolerance and introducing education
about traditional ways of people from
around the world.
The public can attend the festival on
Saturday and Sunday, but Thursday and
Friday are reserved for schools from the
greater Tampa Bay area. Each year, some
10 thousand students have a chance to
visit. Students receive a SPIFFS “passport”
to be stamped at each of the “villages”
hosted by various ethnic groups.
To encourage conversation, SPIFFS prepares
a list of questions students can
ask, from how to say hello in the native
language, to what is the favorite dessert
or sport from that country.
“You can learn about a culture or a
country by going to the Internet or studying
lessons in the classroom, but talking
face to face with someone from a different
country is a different experience,”
says Baumann. “It’s a cultural exchange
that encourages understanding.”
Folk dancing and music are a big part
of the four-day festival, which includes
entertainment by the Urban Gypsies,
Brazilian Samba by O Som Do Jazz,
New Horizon Band of Gulfport, and
Conundrum Celtic Band. New this year
is a Friday evening concert with the
popular local Betty Fox Band.
SPIFFS is the only independent multiethnic
organization of its kind in the U.S.
Although the festival is the highlight
of the year, the organization’s board
of directors and general membership
meet year-round to plan activities,
including visits to area schools to bring
lessons about various cultures to the
classroom.
Since 1984, SPIFFS has managed
a student goodwill ambassadors program,
which sends high school students
to Takamatsu, Japan as part of a cultural
exchange with the St. Petersburg Sister
Cities Program. More than 55 local students
have had the opportunity to stay
for two weeks each summer with local
families in Takamatsu. Then, in return,
students from Takamatsu are invited to
stay with local families in St. Pete.
“The student ambassadors have told
us that participating in the program
opened their eyes and changed their
outlook on the world,” says Baumann.
“Last year, one of the students was so
enthusiastic she went on to spend a
whole year participating in a program in
Taiwan.”
Although student ambassadors
only travel to Japan, the city also has
a “sister city” relationship with St.
Petersburg, Russia, and Isla Murjeres,
Mexico, as well as a “friendship city”
relationship with Figueres, Spain.
FESTIVALS & COOL EVENTS
St. Petersburg International Folk Fair
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