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Showcasing our culture: Rome shares world heritage at International Festival
Apr 20, 2009 12:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Written by Kevin Myrick, Rome News-Tribune staff writer, published 4/19/2009
Hundreds of people mingled through different displays and enjoyed a variety of music and dance from around the world Saturday at the Rome International Festival at Bridgepoint Plaza.
The annual festival — now in its seventh year, according to organizer George Pullen — is a way for Floyd County’s growing multicultural population to come together and learn about the various food, fashion, arts, crafts and entertainment from at least 17 countries around the world.
“I hear people who are travelers and who are internationally inclined say to me they didn’t know we had such a diverse population in Rome,” Pullen said.
He added that the largest group of participants in the festival come from the Darlington School, where students like 10th-grader Stephanie Kahl think it’s important to show off Rome’s diverse cultures and people, especially from her school.
“The town gets to see all the parts of our school, and we have students from all over the world,” she said.
Longtime supporters of the festival, the Akrayees, are another example of those who have worked to spread diversity throughout the community.
Widad Akrayee, a teacher at Garden Lakes Elementary School, said she and her family have participated every year to show that her family is open and accepting of everyone.
“We need people to accept diversity because Rome and Floyd County’s populations from different nations is growing,” Akrayee said.
Akrayee, who was formerly a professor of English at a teacher’s college in Northern Iraq, came to the United States 12 years ago to pursue a better life. Now she and her family are active in pursuing the cultural understanding she believes Rome will benefit from.
One way of doing that is through food, like a fried roll filled with beef or chicken which they served to the hungry crowds Saturday. Over the years, she said her family’s food — along with the other cultures represented — has been one of the most popular aspects of the festival.
“People like the Kurdish food,” she said. “Normally the food is all gone early in the day.”
Hundreds of people mingled through different displays and enjoyed a variety of music and dance from around the world Saturday at the Rome International Festival at Bridgepoint Plaza.
The annual festival — now in its seventh year, according to organizer George Pullen — is a way for Floyd County’s growing multicultural population to come together and learn about the various food, fashion, arts, crafts and entertainment from at least 17 countries around the world.
“I hear people who are travelers and who are internationally inclined say to me they didn’t know we had such a diverse population in Rome,” Pullen said.
He added that the largest group of participants in the festival come from the Darlington School, where students like 10th-grader Stephanie Kahl think it’s important to show off Rome’s diverse cultures and people, especially from her school.
“The town gets to see all the parts of our school, and we have students from all over the world,” she said.
Longtime supporters of the festival, the Akrayees, are another example of those who have worked to spread diversity throughout the community.
Widad Akrayee, a teacher at Garden Lakes Elementary School, said she and her family have participated every year to show that her family is open and accepting of everyone.
“We need people to accept diversity because Rome and Floyd County’s populations from different nations is growing,” Akrayee said.
Akrayee, who was formerly a professor of English at a teacher’s college in Northern Iraq, came to the United States 12 years ago to pursue a better life. Now she and her family are active in pursuing the cultural understanding she believes Rome will benefit from.
One way of doing that is through food, like a fried roll filled with beef or chicken which they served to the hungry crowds Saturday. Over the years, she said her family’s food — along with the other cultures represented — has been one of the most popular aspects of the festival.
“People like the Kurdish food,” she said. “Normally the food is all gone early in the day.”
