This second annual event is free and open to the public Saturday, April 28, 10:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. at the Cooper Student Center on the HACC Campus. The festival brings authentic cuisine, dance performances, exhibitors and activities for children that will entertain and enlighten. Complementing the festivities inside Cooper Student Center is an outside music pavilion from noon to 6 p.m. featuring artists from Indian, gospel, Eastern European and African backgrounds.
HACC's Theatre For Young People presents this spring's production, Aladdin, in the Rose Lehrman Arts Center at 1 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. (Tickets for this performance are $8.)
The celebration continues into the night with a Salsa dance party complete with dance instructions. No experience necessary. There is an admission charged for the dance party.
Exhibits, children's activities and games kick off in the morning, just prior to the Opening and International Parade of Nations at 11:30 a.m.
"This is a celebration of the different ethnicities in Pennsylvania all in one location," said Robert William, director of multicultural affairs/international education at HACC and coordinator of GlobalFest.
"There are places where you can see many of these types of events in isolation but rarely will you find them in one place. This creates an entirely different atmosphere and dynamic," said William. "Some of the groups like Nego Gato African-Brazilian Music and Dance from Pittsburgh are nationally known and have performed at Kennedy Center."
With the exception of an International Fashion Show at 1:30 p.m., there will be 20-minute dance performances continuing until 7 p.m.
The schedule includes the following: 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. - Exhibits open to the public 11 a.m.-7 p.m. - Children's activities, games, food vendors and exhibitors open to the public 11:30 a.m.-noon - Opening and International
Parade of Nations
Noon - Coyle School of Irish Dance
12:30 p.m. - Asian Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania Dancers
1 p.m. - Chinese Cultural and Arts Institute Dancers
1:30 p.m. - International Fashion Show
2 p.m. - Bharatanatyam South Indian Classical Dance - Shoba Kumar
2:30 p.m. - Alleweil Jung German Folk Dancers
3 p.m. - Korean Fan Dance - Yeon Hea Park
3:30 p.m. - PRAZON Contemporary School of Dance
4 p.m. - Capital City Polka Dancers
4:30 p.m. - Egyptian Moon Dance Company Belly Dancers
4:50 p.m. - Martial Arts Demonstration by Harrisburg Kung Fu Center
5:30 p.m. - GRUPO FUEGO, 16-member Latino Dance Ensemble from Philadelphia
6 p.m. - Nego Gato African-Brazilian Music and Dance from Pittsburgh
7 p.m.- midnight - Salsa Dance Instruction and Dance Party
According to William, festival attendees can further appreciate the meaning of all the different dance performances and their history. "New this year we're sharing an accompanying pamphlet so people can read about the dance performances and understand the cultural significance of what they are seeing. We hope it is something attendees and their children can take along with them and remember after the festival."
The musicians at the music pavilion perform from noon to 6 p.m., including:
Noon - Lance Clewett and Steve Jewett with classical music from north India
1:30 - Nathan Nyirenda, Gospel artist from Zambia, central Africa
2:30 - Steelton Tamburashi
4:00 - Nayo African Drum Ensemble
4:30 - Zambian vocal music
In addition, HACC's Theatre for Young People (TYP) will present their production, Aladdin, a participatory play by Moses Goldberg, in the Rose Lehrman Arts Center theatre. Two performances, running without an intermission and recommended for ages 5 and up, will be presented at 1 p.m. and 3:30 pm.
Directed by Brenda C. Eppley, HACC associate professor of theatre, TYP's presentation is a visual delight featuring an innovative set, magical lighting, and enchanting costumes, masks and puppetry.
Aladdin tickets are $8 for all seats. The Box Office phone is 717-231-ROSE (7673).
Festival guests are welcome to stay at 7 p.m. for the Salsa dance instruction and party. The small admission charged, $7 for the general public or $5 for HACC students with ID, includes dance instruction as well as live DJ entertainment. A beginner Salsa dance class and an intermediate/advanced combination class, "Flirting on the Floor" starts off from 7 to 8 p.m. DJ Lee Edward Smith, the director of Dance Like Magic in Washington D.C. leads the intermediate/advanced class. Participants can learn Salsa Casino and the popular, Cuban-based Rueda styles of dance from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., with instructor Mein Samala, director of SonMas Dance Company, also from Washington, D.C. Dubbed the only routine in the world that combines Salsa, Tango, Bachata and magic, Dance Like Magic briefly performs at 10 p.m.
A percentage of all Dance Like Magic music CDs and instructional DVDs sales will go toward the HACC Foundation's Multicultural Student Scholarship Fund. A portion of the refreshment proceeds will also benefit the scholarship fund. The dance, featuring the best in Salsa and a mix of other Latin dances, continues from 9 p.m. until midnight.
Prime sponsor of GLOBALFAST 2007 is HACC's Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Corporate sponsors include The Hershey Company, Saul Ewing, LLP, and Highmark Blue Shield.
Partnering sponsors include HACC's Student Government Association, the Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs, Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian American Affairs, Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, African American Museum of Harrisburg Inc., Asian Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania, Harrisburg St. Patrick's Day Parade Association, Inc., Capital City Polka Dancers, Chinese Cultural & Arts Institute, Alleweil Jung German Folk Dancers, Friendship Force of Greater Harrisburg Inc., Central Pennsylvania Korean Association and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
Information may be obtained by calling William in HACC's Multicultural Affairs office at 780-3276 or emailing him at email address below.
