Global Arts Festival returns to Bartlett with new features
Last June, Arts in Bartlett, the local nonprofit arts council, presented a new outdoor festival focusing on the cultural diversity represented in the community, which was attended by 2,500 visitors.
The Global Arts Festival returns to Bartlett Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24. This two-day festival features multicultural arts and crafts booths, entertainment, food, wine and craft beer, games and audience participation.
Music and dance includes groups represented by Africa, Ireland, India, Mexico, Pacific islands, Native Americans, Poland, China, Taiwan and more. The park is at 102 N. Eastern, Bartlett.
The Bartlett Historical Society will lead a pre-event walking tour of historical homes of architectural interest surrounding Bartlett Park at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The opening ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday includes children and other volunteers carrying the flags of 21 nations in a parade around the park. Any child who wishes to participate should be at the Log Cabin at 10:45 a.m.
"We are excited to add a sports feature this year - cricket - sponsored by the Bartlett Rotary Club," said Cecilia Green, Arts in Bartlett executive director.
"Cricket is the second most popular team sport in the world, but many of us in this area have never participated or even seen it played."
Tom Melville of Hands On Cricket will bring equipment and national cricket uniforms. Visitors can come to the north end of the park and join a team of four or five people. No experience is needed; walk between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. both days. Each game takes 30 to 45 minutes.
"A new activity for kids will take them all over the festival looking for stamps for their Global Arts Passport," Green said. "After getting five to 10 stamps in their books, they can take it into McDonald's on Route 59 in Bartlett for a free vanilla cone."
Kids Global Arts Passports will be available at the Information Tent, the Activity Tent and the Gazebo.
"My Family's Story" is another new project that begins at the festival and continues through the summer.
"We are looking for first, second and third generation immigrants who would like to share the stories of how their family came to the United States and made it their new home," Green said.
Recorded interviews will be transcribed, included in a blog, then archived at the Bartlett History Museum.
"If you're interested, call (630) 372-4152 before the festival, or come to the Information Tent during the festival to volunteer for an interview," Green said.
"If you get tired of walking around the festival, you can relax at the Sit & Knit a Bit Tent," Green said, "and learn the craft that began in ancient Egypt and traveled to the U.S. with European immigrants."
Arts in Bartlett's resident artist Linda Kay will show you how to knit a portion of a chain that will make a Fiber Flash installation for the September Bartlett Heritage Days.
Visitors will also be invited to participate in tai chi, martial arts, and games. The activity tent will have face painting, crafts and loteria, a Mexican bingo game with prizes.
The Gazebo will contain a Global Story Circle with the Story Spinner Debi Gajewski, and crafts with Color My World Arts Academy. Hanover Township Seniors' tent features rock and shell painting.
Shopping opportunities include booths selling handmade goods, jewelry, artisan foods and art reflecting world cultures. Some purchases will benefit artisans overseas who are able to earn money through fair trade shops like Gifts of the World in Schaumburg, Trades of Hope and Artisans of Hope in Bartlett and SORA, with handwoven purses made by urban and rural poor women in the Philippines.
For the full schedule, visit www.artsinbartlett.org and on Facebook at "Global Arts Festival, Bartlett IL." For information, contact Arts in Bartlett at (630) 372-4152 or artsinbartlett@comcast.net. The Global Arts Festival takes place in cooperation with the village of Bartlett, Hanover Township, Bartlett Parks, Streamwood Community Relations Commission, and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.