CelebrateErie isn’t just about Erie culture. It is about all, together and separately.
“Since we started the event in 2018, we’ve wanted to showcase all that Erie has to offer,” said Aaron Loncki, the City of Erie’s marketing strategist and organizer of CelebrateErie. “A big part of our community is the different cultures that call Erie home. We know that we have so many different cultures and we know that our diversity makes us stronger as a community and it’s important that we let’s come together to celebrate this.”
He said that the multicultural part of the 2022 festival will not have a section or a building or rope area reserved for “multicultural events”, but that they will be mixed between food, music, goods and products, and let them serve as a spirit of the party.
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“We wanted it to spread throughout the event this year,” he said.
He said musical performances, food, clothing and interactive spaces would give people more opportunities to discover each other along State Street, in the heart of the city.
“What you’ll find differently are cultural performances on every part of State Street,” he said. “Multicultural, international and minority-owned businesses are integrated throughout the event’s footprint.”
On Friday between 4 and 5 p.m. on the Family Stage, for example, three Indian classical dancers will perform solo and as a group, including Anjali Sahay, 46, an associate professor and political science program director in the School of Public and Global Service . Affairs at Gannon University.
“The dance I’m doing is called Kathak,” she said, referring to one of the eight main forms of Indian classical dance. “I got a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, an internship grant, and I learned a piece as a tribute to my dance teacher. He passed away earlier this year, so it’s in his honor.”
Sahay’s group, TAAL: A RevErie of Indian Classical Dancers, will also perform as an ensemble. Her partners Shreelina Ghosh and Gunasheela Subbegowda will also perform Indian classical dances. Then her daughter and a group of friends will perform the Bollywood dance, Sahay said.
She said she thinks organizers did a good job incorporating Erie’s many cultures into the CelebrateErie experience.
“I think if you look at the lineup across the days, it looks like a lot of different schools and groups are participating,” she said. “I performed for the first time in 2014. This is my third time performing and I actually enjoy it. I’m so happy to see (CelebrateErie) come back.”
Loncki also said the music and other performances will be as diverse as Latin American bands and polka bands and steel drum groups with players from around the world. Find a full line-up and music schedule across five stages at celeberie.com/celebrate-music/.
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Focusing on culture as the ‘spirit of CelebrateErie’
This year there will also be a barber shop down the street, lectures on Erie’s rich diversity by the Jefferson Education Society in the City Council chambers, a walking tour of Erie’s “new” downtown, and an exploration of “Ellis Island ” of Erie.
Some of the lectures will feature Ellis Island, one of Erie’s Multicultural Liaison Committee, called “Welcoming and Promoting Opportunity for America’s Young Population,” as well as a local art gallery sponsored by City Gallery.
“The gallery will have specifically made pieces that showcase local artists and their work,” Loncki said. “We’re pretty dedicated to making (culture) the soul of CelebrateErie.”
The idea is to bring Erieites, all of them, together in one place to learn, teach and celebrate each other, he said. Other features in this regard include:
Multicultural market: local merchants representing cultures and goods from around the world.
Single kitchen: International grocers unique to Erie.
What is there to eat?:CelebrateErie food vendors spread from Perry Square to North Park Row and upstate
Jefferson Society Lecture Series: In addition to the lectures already mentioned, the following are also included:
- Saturday, 4 p.m.: Celebrating Lake Erie: Working Together to Protect Our Greatest Asset, with Jennifer Tompkins, BA
- Sunday, 2pm Erie Politics: Old, New and Notable, with Patrick Cuneo
- Sunday, 3 p.m.: When Erie Was the Freshwater Fishing Capital of the World, with David Frew, Ph.D.
Circles, corn holes and more
In addition to the musical performances, the market and lectures are several events that are just plain fun, including a 3-point basketball tournament, a corn hole set in Perry Square and, on Saturday, a drum circle with One World Tribe.
“Anyone can participate in drum circle,” Loncki said. “We’ll have drums available for people who want to dance and learn about drums.”
Loncki said they’ve been working on the software since January and are excited to finally share it with the community.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to have a full holiday because of COVID,” Loncki said. “And our goal is to refresh it in a new way.”
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Contact Jennie Geisler at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ETNGeisler.
