Archives > Plano Star-courier > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Turnout immense for Plano International Festival
By Kim Nguyen, Staff Writer
Last Saturday’s Plano International Festival was an enormous hit, with an attendance of nearly 11,000 people.
“The weather was sunny and beautiful and Haggard Park is conveniently next to the DART station,” said Graiela Katzer, president of the Plano International Festival Corp. “The Festival overall went very well.”
Katzer was pleased to announce that the 75 candidates for naturalization were sworn in to officially be United States citizens.
Festival-goers experienced the sights, sounds and tastes of more than 60 cultures that make up Plano’s wide-raged diversity.
“It was the perfect day for a perfect party,” Evans said. “It was wonderful to see how much fun everyone has when the community is brought together. It was inspiring to see reservations melt away as people from different cultures enjoyed each other’s presence despite their differences.”
The food court was overflowing with festival-goers that got the opportunity to sample foods from Thailand, the Mediterranean and India.
The Zero Waste Initiative put forth by the festival may have been the highlight of the event. Festival coordinators arranged to supply all food court vendors with 100 percent biodegradable plates, bowls and utensils, providing easy cleanup for both festival attendees and volunteers. Each trash station throughout Haggard Park had three separate waste receptacles: general recycling, organic and regular trash. An army of volunteer green ambassadors manned trash stations to inform festival-goers of the green initiative and to help attendees properly sort their trash.
“More than 50 percent of our wastes were sent to organic recycling,” Katzer said. “It was a very successful initiative to cut down on our carbon footprint.”
Katzer believes the biggest success Saturday was the children’s activity corner, which had a dangerously low level of supplies by the mid-afternoon.
“We were running out of supplies for the children, but we were fortunate enough to make it,” he said. “But next year, we will definitely bring many more supplies.”
Each of the cultural booths provided informative materials for adults and children. The Plano International Festival coordinators gave each child a passport to get stamped as they wandered and visited each booth.
“It was great to see the children learning and absorbing all that information,” Evans said.
Katzer said organizers are looking forward to next year’s Plano International Festival because many cultural organizations and vendors have already requested to participate in the next festival. Sponsors are also lining up to support next year’s outdoor multi-cultural fête.
“It was a beautiful day and event,” Evans said. “The festival accomplished exactly what it had set out to do: celebrate Plano’s rich diversity.”
The Plano International Festival was conceived by Plano’s Multicultural Outreach Roundtable (MCOR) to showcase and celebrate the many cultures represented by the people of Plano. It is designed to promote awareness of cultural diversity and facilitate communication between all cultural groups.
It also serves to advance Plano’s visibility and standing as an international city. The festival is sponsored by the non-profit organization, Plano International Festival Corporation, and is underwritten by the City of Plano.
Sponsors of the 2008 festival were Ahluwalia Law Offices, Al Dia, Asia World Market, Capital One Bank, Cisco Systems, DART, Dr. Christopher A. Parr, EcoDallas, EDS Credit Union, H-E-B/Central Market, Neighborsgo, the Medical Center of Plano, New England Financial, RBC Wealth Management, Sundial Technologies and Texas Credit Union League.
More information about the Plano International Festival can be found online at: www.PlanoInternationalFestival.org.
Contact Kim Nguyen at knguyen@acnpapers.com
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
the Multicultural policies, then why did the City Officals go to court in an attempt to block the application of a Vietnamese
Church to open their property to use in the City of Plano. Why did this Mayor
Pat Evans come forward & help them.?
DOUBLE STANDARD....!!!
in Plano you can count on it evey time. "