Local Colors Festival

Saturday, May 17, 2008
11 AM to 5 PM
Elmwood Park, Downtown Roanoke
FREE ADMISSION

More than 70 countries participate in the Parade of Nations, exhibits of arts and crafts, sell of authentic food, non-stop live entertainment on the main stage, international classical music on a second stage, children’s games, and more.

Photo by Collette Fu

Highlight of Festival Events

Scheduled Events

11:00 Parade of Nations: Led by the Roanoke City Color Guard
Opening Ceremony: National Anthem performed by Nigel Huckle.
Dignitaries: City Councilman, David Trinkle, City Manager Darlene Burcham , City Mayor Nelson Harris, Senator John Edwards, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, and Pearl Fu
11:45 GRUPO 'DE COLORES' Latino Children Choir
11:55 Indian Children Dancers Choreographed by Priyanka Chati
12:05 Chinese Dancers from Virginia Tech
12:15 Southwest Virginia Middle Eastern Dance Association
12:30 Peruvian Children Dancers
12:40 Greek Dancers from the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
12:50 “Bollywood” performed by the Kirk Family YMCA Dancers
  1:00 Philippine Dancers, Jota and Tinikling Dances 2008 FEATURED COUNTRY
  1:15 Indian Dancers, Monica Patel, Poojah Shah, Mitali Patel
  1:30 Michas Polish Folk Dance Ensemble (Dance Troupe)
  1:50 Korean Fashion Show & Song
  2:05 Belly Dancer, Ghazala
  2:15 Thistlewood, Celtic Music
  2:35 African & Haitian Dances by the Divine Dance Incorporated
  2:50 Hula by Rhythm Fire Cultural Dance Company
  3:00 Lebanese Folk Dancers from St. Elias Church
  3:15 Native American Indians: The Red Feather Medicine Singers
  3:30 Sisters of the Circle, Jefferson Center
  3:40 Myanmar, Burmese Dancers
  3:55 Mexican Salsa Dancers & audience participation strongly recommended
  4:05 Mexican youth Band, Wetbacks
  4:25 Michas Polish Folk Dance Ensemble (Dance Troupe)
  4:45 CLOSING CEREMONY:
Dena Holland and the Huff Lane Ambassadors
Songs of goodwill
“Virginia” composed by Brannan Thompson
"Let There be Peace on Earth"
"It's a Small World" in English, French, Chinese, & Spanish

All Day Events

• Emcees
  • WFIR Bob Clark
  • WDBJ 7 Brent Watts & Natasha Ryan
  • WSLS Dawne Jefferies
  • Emily Wood – Miss Teen Roanoke Valley
  • Mac McCadden, Jay Saunders, and Pearl Fu
• International Classical Music on Stage 2, featuring Cara Modistete
• Celebrate with The Philippines, the country featured this year (2008).
• Native American Village, including authentic foods
• For children there are PHOTO PASSPORTS ($1.00) available that can be stamped by each country booth that they visit and learn about.
• Children’s Games (inside the city library)
• Spectacular display by "Sons of Norway" - Longhouse - Viking Reenactments
• Play Bacci Ball with the Italians
• English Cricket Demonstration
• Polish Dance Instruction
• Singers of all ages from Burma, China, Korea, Mexico, Ireland, and others
• Dancers of all ages from Africa, Burma, China, Colombia, Cuba, India, Ireland, Korea, Lebanon, Liberia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Scotland, and Venezuela, plus Belly Dancers from around the world
• Native American musical instrument and jewelry maker

For Sale

• Passports $1.00 w photos
• Raffle Tickets $1.00
• Local Colors T-shirts $10.00, Adults and Children’s Sizes
• Globes
• Authentic International Food Booths galore (on Bullit Ave)

  Sample foods from all over the world, such as:
  Falafel Tabhoulli Hummus Baklava Norwegian Våffler Lutefisk (norwegian fish) Vegemite (Australia) Australian Sausage Rolls Spanakopita (spinach & feta pie) Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) Paximathia (greek biscotti)	Vietnamese eggrolls Indian Curry Naan bread Tandoori Korean dumplings Barbequed beef German pastry Shortbread Irish soda bread Greek Coffee Honduran Coffee

About The Philippines, the featured country of the 2008 Festival

The Philippines is an archipelago in Southeast Asia. Its 7,107 islands, (roughly 300,000 sq. kms), make it one of the largest island groups in the world, but only about 1,000 islands are inhabited. The islands are divided into 3 principal regions: Luzon in the north, Visayas in the middle and Mindanao in the south. The land is primarily mountainous; narrow coastal plains, wide valleys, volcanoes (20 are active), dense forests, and mineral and hot springs further characterize the larger islands. The country has about 20 active volcanoes which have contributed to the fertility of the land, along with extensive river systems.

It is generally believed that the Philippines was once connected to the Asian mainland by a series of land bridges. According to archeological evidence, the ancestors of the country’s aborigines (the Negritos or Aeta) crossed these land bridges to settle in the Philippines about 30,000 years ago. Over the years, groups of Malayans settled in the islands, and peoples from neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaya, India, China and Japan traded extensively with the inhabitants of the islands.

The Philippines has been colonized by three major world powers:

• Spain claimed the islands in 1542 and named them after the heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Philip. Spanish rule lasted almost 300 years.
• In August 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to America, despite the fact that Filipinos had declared their independence from Spanish rule just months earlier.
• The end of American rule was planned for 1946, but during the World War II, Japan invaded and conquered the Philippines in 1941. In 1945, America liberated the Philippines from Japanese domination.

On July 4, 1946 the Republic of the Philippines finally came into its own when America granted the Philippines independence. It was not until many years afterwards that the Philippine government declared that the real Independence Day was June 12, 1898.

The Philippines is a democracy and its political system is patterned after that of the U.S., with three separate branches of government: executive, legislative and judiciary. Its economy is predominantly agricultural, but a rapidly growing service industry is quickly making its mark in the country, while manufacturing, construction and mining manage to contribute to the national income.

In 1986, a relatively peaceful revolution ousted then president and dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, from power. Sadly, 18 years after his rule and with a growing population of over 91,077,287 (July 2007 est.), the country is still plagued by rampant government corruption, poverty and political and economic instability. Despite this, the economy seems to be on the mend, which lends a ray of hope for our troubled homeland.

The Filipino people are God-fearing, generally peaceful, hardworking and optimistic – which is why the Filipino spirit has not been crushed, despite centuries of strife and hardship!

Jota Quirino

This year's presentation from the Philippines will be a dance called JOTA (hoh-tah) QUIRINO - it's a dance that depicts the cultural influences of the Spanish conquistadors on the Filipino people. The dance merges the Spanish jota and period costumes of the 18th and 19th centuries with the Filipino culture in the form of bamboo castanets. The Jota Quirino is dedicated to the province of Quirino. Performed during parties, the dance shows a mix of Andalucian jota steps with typical Ilocano steps.

Food that will be available at the Philippines booth:

• Entree: Chicken adobo, pork adobo, lumpia shanghai (Philippine spring rolls), and rice
• Dessert: Biko and cassava cake
• Drinks: Mango juice and melon drink