In 2017, a team of educators and community organizers met to establish the Keene International Festival, a free multi-generational, family-friendly event that showcases and celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the local community by engaging members in activities and connecting people. The first event, held in 2018, drew more than 500 people from around southwest New Hampshire and beyond. The following year, the City of Keene's Human Rights Committee became a partner of the event. Approximately 1,200 people attended. The pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 festival, but this year it was back in full force at the Keene Recreation Center.
We spoke with festival committee co-chair, Elizabeth Nieuwsma-Dell about the history of the event. We’re proud to share their story.
When did the idea for the international festival come about?
Patricia Pedroza Gonzalez performs at the 2021 Keene International Festival. Photo by Gerty Flagg.
There’s a teacher from Keene Community Education named Jen Alexander who sent an email to me—I’m also an English language teacher—and to Jack Timmons, another English language teacher, that was a reaction to anti-immigrant sentiment (she’d noticed) that has been growing in our country. Her idea was to create a festival about multiculturalism that exists in the Keene area. I’d been thinking of the same idea so the two of us were on board immediately. We solidified ideas about what the festival should be and put an ad in the paper to invite others into the organization. Around 10 people showed up to our first meeting. Our committee now has 12 people: educators; town officials; Keene Community Education students; a representative from the historical society; an author. My co-chair is (middle-school science teacher) Ritu Budakoti, founding member of the Keene India Association. Some of us are newer to this country and some have ancestors that have been in the area awhile. It’s an accurate representation of America. A lot of people who attended the past two festivals mentioned they felt at home for the first time in their new community. I think it really helped give a lot of people a sense of belonging.
Why did you decide to become a member of the committee?
Dancers at the Keene International Festival. Photo by Gerty Flagg.
Jack (Timmons) and I are English teachers who work with the children of immigrants all day long at the elementary school we work at in Keene. We work closely together and we’ve done a lot of things to celebrate diversity. With the anti-immigration sentiment that had been growing, we decided we needed to emphasize the benefits of having a multicultural society. Neither one of us has family that has immigrated recently, but our great-grandparents come from other countries and we are aware of their stories. Maybe that has helped me identify with more of my students.
What is the vision for the festival?
Families have landed in Keene from all over the country, including this one. Photo by Gerty Flagg.
We wanted to bring awareness that there are great things from all cultures and they all contribute to humanity. Everything belongs to us, all those cultural riches. There’s a metaphor of a cultural iceberg: Everything is under the surface. Food, music, visual arts, clothing, languages—that is the tip of the iceberg. What lies underneath is where things really get rich: views, beliefs, attitudes toward children, notions of beauty, whether or not the culture is more cooperative or competitive, the importance of time—the list goes on and on. Part of why we decided to host the festival is to showcase and celebrate diversity, but our hope is that the festival piques people’s interest and they will want to learn more. Our hope is to inspire people to ask questions; start a dialogue with people of other cultures and ask questions; read books and watch foreign films; make friendships. That has been another benefit of the festival—the friendships that have been formed there. Also, the event is always free admission and performances and activities are free. The only things that costs anything are food and art/craft items for purchase. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised go toward festival activities.
What is happening during a festival?
At the Keene International Festival culture - from traditions of food, dance, music, writing, and language - are all shared and celebrated. Photo by Gerty Flagg.
At our 2021 festival there will be African drumming and a performance by an all-women’s Jamaican reggae band; interactive Bollywood-style dancing hosted by the Keene India Association; arts and craft activities from Finland, Brazil, India, Southeast Asia, El Salvador, Russia and Germany; a card game from Haiti; and food from Thailand, Jamaica, Greece, Finland and India as well as from the new Keene International Market. There will be an information table set up for people to learn more about the cultures represented at the festival, and a photo display telling immigrant stories. We always want to honor the fact that the land here we all live on was originally inhabited by Native Americans, which is why the festival begins with a spoken piece by Bryan Blanchette, of the Abenaki tribe, that acknowledges this.
What are you working on for future festivals?
Workshops are often offered at the festival. Rangoli, pictured here, is an artform where patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and coloured rocks. It is an everyday practice in Hindu households. Photo by Vidyha Shreenath.
In the future we hope to have more workshops that will explore things in-depth but we are not offering any this year because of COVID. On (the festival’s) Facebook page we have been posting videos about people of different cultures talking about holidays, what they mean to them and how they celebrate them.
What has been most surprising to you about the festival?
The most surprising fact about the festival is that 12 people joined our committee and that everybody fell so nicely into a role so organically. Also that there are so many people out there who want to come celebrate with us and learn about other cultures.