Pelican Rapids celebrates ethnic diversity July 21

Multi-Cultural food and fun return with revived Friendship Fest

One of the things that make Pelican Rapids great is its heritage of ethnic diversity.

On Saturday, July 21 that mix of cultures will be presented at the Friendship Festival in Sherin Park from 11 am to 4 pm.

Multi-food and entertainment will be among the highlights of the celebration. The Friendship Festival, which was hosted annually through 2014, has been revived this year.

Food options will include Bosnian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Somali, Scandinavian, Nepali, German and American. Ethnic specialty foods range from Polish brats to Somali Sambusa to oriental egg rolls to Mexican fare.

The Friendship Festival also presents a global mix of entertainment:

• A Somali Dance Troupe from the Somali Cultural Museum in Minneapolis
• Folklorico Guadalupano, a group which performs Mexican dances
• The Tickwood String Band, a quartet that plays old time American music
• Mariachi Jalisco de Minnesota, a mariachi band from the Twin Cities are among the featured entertainment.

Kids events will include an oobleck walk, a chance to make tissue paper flowers, an opportunity to decorate nylon shoulder bags with markers, face painting, a piñata, and a bouncy house.

This Festival is supported by local and regional organizations: a Lake Region Arts Council Legacy grant, an Otter Tail County Historical Society grant, a Lake Region Electric Operation RoundUp grant, a West Central Initiative Fund Community Change Makers grant and many local donors and volunteers.

For further information, contact Julie Sachs at [email protected] or Cynthia Zavala at [email protected]

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or a blanket and to wear traditional clothing if you have it.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT:  Louis Hoglund, 218-820-1087