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Show , v pR- , 1 J L- ll t f - 'jf If t I x The West Africa country of Togo will be represented at the Spring- f V - t i i , J'" ' T - f . .A ville World Folkfest this year. This will be the first time a group ' (t P ''" . U ' . Ui "V F 'N 6 from Africa will be part of the Folkfest. Their program is based on l X" , ? ' f fA v African stories and myths while mixing in local dances, mimes and v AV lp ' , 1 Awi I - ' CjT k dramas with the hope of preserving the culture of Togo for the next v . i jf V . . vTv l ( J h'lUV ' t generation. Their costumes are typically traditional and African. I, . $ LI i - lV- ,Mr r j p ' Volume One Hundred Three SPRINGVELLE, UTAH 84663 - July 8, 1998 Price 500 Number Twenty-Seven by Fred Heath Dancers and musicians from nine countries will be in Springville July 11-18 to participate partici-pate in one of the largest international interna-tional folk dance festivals in the United States. Experiencing the world in just one night will offer yet another perspective of different cultures by the addition of two countries who have never been represented at the Springville World Folkfest. Those two groups are from Togo (West Africa) and Algeria, and are sure to bring very bright and exciting costumes to mis '98 Folkfest schedule SATURDAY, JULY 11 3 p.m.: Opening reception for dignitaries from all countries, Springville Museum of Art. 5 p.m.: Opening Grand Folk Parade, beginning at Springville Museum of Art, 126 E. 400 South, and proceeding west to Main Street, then turning north and continuing on Main Street to the Springville Civic Center, 50 S. Main. 8 p.m.: Parade of Nations and opening performance of Folkfest, Spring Acres Arts Park, 620 S. 1350 East. MONDAY, JULY 13 Free Dance Workshops, Spring Acres Arts Park: 10 a.m., Macedonia; Mace-donia; 11 a.m., Turkey; 1 p.m., India. 6: 30 p.m. : Pre-show entertainment. entertain-ment. 8 p.m.: Evening performance, Spring Acres Arts Park. TUESDAY, JULY 14 6:30 p.m:: Pre-show entertainment, entertain-ment, i 8 p.m.: Evening performance, Spring Acres Arts Park. WEDNESDAY, JULY 15 Free Dance Workshops, Spring Acres Arts Park: 10 a.m., Romania; Roma-nia; 11 a.m., Korea; 1 p.m., Algeria. , 8 p.m.: Street Dance, Springville Spring-ville Museum of Art parking lot (free of charge). All citizens invited. THURSDAY, JULY 16 Free Dance Workshop, Spring Acres Arts Park: 10 a.m., Italy; 11 a.m., USA; 1 p.m., Togo. 6:30 p.m. Pre-show entertainment. entertain-ment. 8 p.m. Evening performance, Spring Acres Arts Park. FRIDAY, JULY 17 6:30 p.m.: Pre-show entertainment. entertain-ment. 8 p.m. Evening performance, Spring Acres Arts Park. SATURDAY, JULY 18 , 8 p.m.: Parade of Nations and closing performance, Spring Acres Arts Park. year's festival, said Teddy Anderson, An-derson, general director. Sara Newman, as assistant to Anderson, said the dances of these two African countries will be totally different than anything displayed before compared to the European countries that attend. "ITiey are the most unique groups that we have ever offered. of-fered. . .because of their dancing being an older form of expression. expres-sion. vmore primal, " Newman said. The World Folkfest, now in its thirteenth year, will host dance troupes from all over the world including performers from Macedonia, Mace-donia, Romania, Turkey, India, Korea, Italy, the United States and the aforementioned African countries. About 400 performers and musicians will present nightly performances as well as participate partici-pate in a parade and street dance during the week. The festival will open with a traditional folk parade pa-rade down Springville's Main Street at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 1 1 , followed by the first of six performances at 8 p.m. that evening. All performances will be at tile Spring Acres Arts Park amphitheater behind of Springville Spring-ville High School, 620 S. 1350 East, Springville. Citizens are encouraged to attend the opening parade and welcome the visitors to our community. com-munity. Folk parades are held in Europe at the festivals there, and the townspeople welcome . the visitors by giving them flowers and flags and cheering for them as they parade through the streets. The groups will perform again on the following Monday, Tues-day, Tues-day, Thursday, Friday and Satur- v day nights at 8 p.m. each evening. eve-ning. Tickets for this year's festival are $8 for adults, $7 for s senior Citizens and $3 for chil- , dren 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or; bought in advance by calling 489- 3657 or 489-2726 from 9 a.m. to , 5 p.m. or by writing to: P.O. Box 306, Springville, UT 84663. During intermission at each performance, a Little Giant Ladder Lad-der will be given away to a lucky ticket holder. They are compliments compli-ments of Mayor Hal Wing and Wing Enterprises. On Wednesday, July 15, the groups will participate in the huge festival street dance and party at the Springville Museum of Art parking lot, located at 200 E. 400 South in Springville. This event is free to the public, and all ages are welcome. , According to Martin Conover, chairman of the festival's board of directors, Springville wants to share the excitement and fun of the festival with all of Utah. He said it is an event that once you participate in or even just attend, you will want tp get more involved. in-volved. Anderson said the group of countries this year will be arriving arriv-ing as scheduled and is pleased with the variety of the now solvent sol-vent Folkfest. Tickets on sale for World Folltfest Tickets for the thirteenth annual Springville World Folkfest are now on sale at the Folkfest office at 909 E. 400 South, Springville. Tickets can also be purchased at the door each night of the performances. perfor-mances. There are plenty of tickets, but if it is more convenient conve-nient for you to buy them ahead of time, then stop by at the Folkfest Folk-fest office. Prices are $8 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and $3 for children chil-dren under 12. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased pur-chased by phone or mail also. For ticket information, call 489-3657 489-3657 or 489-2726 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The World Folkfest mailing address is P. O. Box 306, Springville, Utah, 84663. Those attending the festival are reminded that they can come early and buy dinner from one of many vendors who will be there this year. They can also purchase souvenirs from the visiting folk groups. There are chairs and bleachers at the festival site, but many enjoy bringing their own lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. The Folkfest has grown each, year to be the biggest in the United States. A large crowd is expected to attend this year. There will be nine countries represented in addition to two from the USA. ' "Our expectations this year are larger crowds which means we will be hosting more than three thousand people a night," said Teddy Anderson executive director direc-tor of the festival. ' The work is continuing this week to ready the festival site, finish housing the guests and see that they all get here safely and ' on time. A few more host families are still needed to provide housing for some of the dancers and musicians. Those families interested inter-ested in opening their homes to guests need to call Joella Wolfg-ramm, Wolfg-ramm, 489-7723, or Carol Liff-erith, Liff-erith, 489-4460, to volunteer. If you can volunteer to help with the folkfest in some other way, call Anderson at 489-2726. "We can always use people in x areas such as ticket sales, office v workers and guides," she said. She explained that the Folkfest almost went under in 1988, but now a solid foundation has been laid because of the hard work of the volunteers. In fact, that solid foundation is evidenced in the fact that the Springville World Folkfest is recognized by the Salt Lake City Tourist Bureau as one of the main tourist attractions in Utah, Anderson said. Because of the hard work the.,, volunteers do,, Anderson described the crew of volunteers as ones that can't be beat and she included in that group whose who volunteer as host families. The Folkfest performers and support personnel will be housed in more than 100 private homes in the Springville and Mapleton area. In those homes, the international interna-tional visitors will be exposed to American customs and family life, and the host families will be able to learn first-hand about life in other parts of our rapidly shrinking world. "The dances and music from around the globe are the public elements of the Folkfest, but the private experiences of the host families as they interface with their guests are where lifelong bridges of understanding are constructed," said Conover. "We have host families who still correspond cor-respond regularly with people they housed years ago, and others who have visited their Folkfest friends and stayed in their homes on trips abroad. An example of such a host family comes from the housing chairman herself, Joella Wolf-gramm, Wolf-gramm, who said families can still volunteer for this year's event. ' "We need help with Algeria, Italy and with the group from the U. S., "Wolfgramm said. She felt that maybe four or five homes would help tremendously tremen-dously in filling the needs of the two groups. , To volunteer as a host family contact Wolfgramm at 480-7723 or Carol Lifferth at 489-4460. Wolfgramm's experience as a host has been nothing short of inspiring. "It can be very rewarding seeing communication barriers overcome between the two (host family and guests), "Wolfgramm said. "It creates a bond that can't be replaced." While she knew the impact the visiting countries have on the community, Wolfgramm said she never realized the impact our small community had on the dance groups that come here. Her family took a vacation to Thailand and visited and stayed with dancers that they had hosted here in Springville. When they visited the school , the dancers attend, in one of the classrooms there were blown up pictures everywhere in the room of Springville Spr-ingville and the World Folkfest. She said it is fun to watch the bond made not only with the host family and the participants, but also the bond made between the do Q7 WORLD FOLKFEST Springville, Utah participants of other cultures that attend the festival. "It takes away boundaries and develops friendships and relationships. Most important, it makes the world a better place," Newman said. More than 150,000 people have attended the World Folkfest performances since its first festival festi-val in 1986. Organizers expect more than 20,000 spectators this year to the performances in the park amphitheater. Crowds can grow up to 6,000 per night with everyone still being able to see and hear excellently according to Anderson. h ft ' Koko Racin, is the name of the folk dance from Macedonia who will perform in the Springville World Folkfest. They have been performing for more than 40 years in more than 5,000 concerts in Yugoslavia and the world. They have won numerous awards at home and abroad and have established themselves as the best known representatives and propagators of the rich Macedonian and Yugoslav folklore. |