The town’s cultural diversity was on full display Saturday afternoon at Lynnfield for Love’s (LFL) Multicultural Celebration at the Lynnfield Middle School.
A total of 23 countries were represented in the Hall of Countries interactive exhibit in the cafeteria, where visitors explored the culture and customs of far-away countries including Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
The event included music, dance, and karate demonstrations and performances from start to finish. It also featured a cricket clinic conducted by the North Shore Cricket Club and country-specific crafts for kids. The day even featured an interactive flamenco dance performance in which spectators had the opportunity to play along on imaginary castanets.
LFL’s Darlene Kumar said this was the third celebration, with the last one held in 2018.
“The 2018 one was successful as well, but this is the most countries we have ever had,” she said. “That’s just a small fraction of what we have in Lynnfield but it is such a joy to see all these wonderful people sharing how they share and celebrate their wonderful cultures. It’s just been amazing today.”
Most if not all of the displays were manned by people dressed in their country’s traditional costumes. Lynnfield resident Katie Ryou wore her Korean wedding gown.
Her display included Korean keepsake boxes containing personal items of her four children as well as items from her wedding — a pair of ducks symbolizing love, and tea that is served by the bride and groom to their elders as a sign of respect. The boxes are traditionally presented on children’s first birthdays.
“This is symbolic of the privilege of reaching one year of age, as many children around the world do not,” Ryou said. “It’s a celebration of life containing colorful Korean garb and something the one-year-old chooses from a collection of items placed on a mat in front of them. It’s what they first gravitate to as an indicator of their personality and future. It could be money, a paint brush, book, pencil or even a pen. It’s not foolproof but it’s just fun, just cultural pleasantries.”
Ryou said she is of Irish descent and her husband is first-generation Korean.
“We call our children KIrish,” laughed Ryou.
Another resident, Virginia Blanco, grew up in Bolivia. A mother of two boys, she and her husband moved to Lynnfield about six years ago.
Her display included many colorful items including hand-made wooden instruments; a whimsical book by Bolivian photographer Gray Malin from his Far Far Away series, which was shot on the bright white sands at Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flats in Bolivia; and ornate dance costumes and accessories from Dance Caporales.
“They are worn during the annual carnival celebration, the most famous one being Carnival of Oruro, which goes on for 10 days” said Blanco, whose colorful costume was topped by a bowler hat, which is customarily worn by “cholitas” or indigenous women. In some Bolivian communities, the way in which the hat is worn indicates relationship status.
Ukrainian native Olena Tsar kicked off the performances playing the Ukrainian bandura, a plucked-string folk-instrument that combines elements of the zither and lute.
Mystic Valley Charter School second grader Margo Paladi played the piano.
The Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy conducted a Chinese lion dance demonstration. In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. People perform lion dances at festivals and other big occasions, including Chinese New Year, to bring good fortune and chase away evil spirits.
Lynnfield’s Vasudha Kudrimoti performed an interactive Jive to Bollyfusion classical dance.
Lynnfield Middle School fifth grader Kabir Bhatia performed on the guitar. It was his first public performance.
Rondae Drafts, a hip-hop professor and instructor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave a hip-hop performance.
Lynnfield High junior Max Faleyev concluded the entertainment with the polonaise piano piece “Farewell to the Homeland” by Belarusian composer Michat Kleofas Oginski, who is considered one of the most important cultural figures in Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania. Faleyev has been playing the piano since age 6. He is the winner of the American Fine Arts Festival in Carnegie Hall and the Chopin International Competition in Hartford.
“When you look at all these people displaying their artifacts and all the wonderful performances, I was just blown out of my mind by so many things that were on display today,” said Kumar. “It’s so exciting and I am so proud of my community and how friendly everyone was. We just needed a community event like this to come together. It has been a great day.”
Kumar said LFL was determined to keep the event free and did so with help from Massachusetts Cultural Council and Lynnfield Cultural Council grants.
