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PARTY IN THE PARK
July 18, 2013
By SHANNON O. WELLS
Beaverton Valley Times
W
hen it comes to planning an in-
ternational celebration in Bea-
verton, there’s not much need
to look beyond the city limits.
Latino. Russian. African American. Asian.
Pacific Islander. Indonesian. Native American.
Irish. For a formerly sleepy farming town, Bea-
verton has grown into a world-class communi-
ty in more ways than one.
“Beaverton is the most ethnically diverse
city in the state, or certainly among the most
ethnically diverse in the state,” says Bill Flood,
a consultant working with the city of Beaver-
ton to plan the Beaverton International Cele-
bration. “To me, it’s a major, major piece of
what makes Beaverton unique and wonderful.
This is a unique way to showcase that, and a
great way to put Beaverton in touch with its
neighbors.”
Part of the Tualatin Hills Park and Recre-
ation District’s annual Party in the Park at the
Howard M. Terpenning Recreation Complex at
Southwest 158th Avenue andWalker Road on
Saturday, July 27, the third annual Beaverton
International Celebration is a free, fun, family-
friendly event showcasing theWestside’s nu-
merous ethnic cultures through music, dance,
interactive activities, food, art and more.
From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the celebration runs
on two stages and features 35 exhibitors, art-
ists and craftspeople representing a vast range
of cultures.
Exhibitors will display wares ranging from
handcrafted Ethiopian jewelry, baskets, leath-
erwork, dolls, African baskets, batik prints,
Scandinavian flags, an 8-foot by 21-foot viking
ship, origami ornaments and cards, Guatema-
lan textiles and jewelry and handmade Somali
crafts.
The 11 stage performances include tradition-
al Middle Eastern and Indian dancing, Andean
folk music, Chinese dance and kung fu, Java-
nese/Indonesian traditional music on hand-
crafted instruments, Israeli folk dancing and
traditional Korean dance.
“There will be two stages on either end of
the field, and we’ll toggle between the stages,”
Flood says. “Every 20 minutes or so, we’ll
switch. That’s basically the format.”
Held beneath a large tent, the Kids in Cul-
ture interactive area will feature a bevy of art-
ists and craftspeople engaged in interactive art
for children, including henna body art, Indian
artist paintings, storytelling and other activi-
ties for the young ones.
“The tent will be going on non-stop, in the
middle of a big field,” Flood says. “The Scandi-
navian Heritage Foundation is going to have a
group and bring a viking ship in. The kids real-
ly love it, and will get to wear a viking helmet.”
Last year, more than 7,500 people attended
the Party in the Park, many of whom came es-
pecially for the International Celebration.
BobWayt, the park district’s communica-
tions director, says the event was a natural col-
laboration between THPRD and the city of
Beaverton.
“It just happened that the city of Beaverton
wanted to launch a major summertime event
that would celebrate diversity in the area
and were looking for the proper venue. The
park district was looking as well. The two
parties decided the Party in the Park was the
ideal venue for the International Celebra-
tion.”
As successful as last year’s celebration was,
Flood says organizers hope to increase the lev-
el of interactivity as well as the diversity of
performances and offerings.
“I’m just really excited about the perform-
ers, with groups going on at the two stages,
and more artists and exhibitors. There’s just
more going on, more activity.
“And we’re also really stressing interactivi-
ty,” he adds. “This is not just an event where
people walk by the booths where people are
looking at you.”
That will certainly be the case when the
Mathias Galley African Dance Ensemble takes
the stage on Saturday.
“He’s awesome,” Flood says. “He’s totally in-
teractive. Last year he jumped off the stage
and got the crowd dancing.”
International Celebration is interactive fun
■
Multicultural dancing, native folk music, viking ship highlight event
The Beaverton
International
Celebration invites
Party in the Park
visitors to learn about
their neighbors. Eleven
cultural groups will
rotate between two
stages on July 27 to
entertain all ages.
TIMES FILE PHOTOS:
JOHN LARIVIERE