by Dean Poling
The Valdosta Asian Cultural Association’s Asian Cultural Experience festival continues growing. This year, it spreads further across the world, notes Serena Huang, the festival’s founder.
“After seven successful years, we are expanding the scope of the project from Asia to Africa and even the entire international community,” she says. “We envision a program showcasing the world’s rich cultural diversity that enriches the life and education here in South Georgia.”
To highlight this full international flavor, the event has been renamed the Azalea International Folk Fair & Dance Competition, which will “promote lively cultural exchange on the largest scale in Georgia,” Huang says.
In the first days of this month, organizers present 10 productions during school field trips (March 1, 2) and a one-day community festival (March 3) at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center.
That Saturday, the Second Annual International Folk Dance Competition returns as part of the festivities. This event was opened to dancers from throughout the region representing national dances from around the globe. Registration to participate in the dance show ended Jan. 31.
The Web site (www.gainternationalfolkfair.org) has information on how to register as well as 15 posters providing an overview of the festival’s productions and video demonstrations.
“Among all productions, we are most proud of a new science-education project entitled ‘Power Tech Youth Technology Creativity Contest,’” Huang says. “We hope this new addition will increase our middle-school students’ knowledge of and creativity with technology, helping to prepare and motivate them to meet global opportunities in the future high-tech world.”
The VACA and Georgia Power Foundation sponsored Lowndes High School teacher John Newton on a trip to Taiwan during the Thanksgiving break to observe and learn how to establish a Power Tech competition. With the planned demonstrations, the Azalea International will present the first Taiwanese-sanctioned Power Tech event in the U.S.
The festival started as a small-scale dance group in local schools that has grown into a regional international juggernaut.
Taiwanese and other Asian media regularly follow the South Georgia event. Numerous corporate sponsors support the event, including ValdostaScene’s sister publication, The Valdosta Daily Times, and UPS, Georgia Power, Pepsi, Target, Sam’s Club, Park Avenue Bank. Azalea International has also won funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Georgia Humanities Council, Georgia Council for the Arts, National Endowment of the Humanities, Southern Arts Federation, Valdosta State University.
More information, times, etc., visit the Web site
(www.gainternationalfolkfair.org).
