91AV

The 91AV's Offices of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs and International Education will host a Passport to Culture International Children's Festival on Friday, March 26, 2010 in the Campus Center on the Biddeford Campus. 

The festival will bring 220 fourth grade students from Biddeford Intermediate School to the 91AV Biddeford Campus for a one-day festival to help promote cross-cultural understanding, create goodwill, and enhance elementary students' awareness of the wider global community.

The program is made possible through Grant from Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation and advances the 91AV's commitment to helping build community partnerships and fostering connections between 91AV and the Biddeford community.

Passport to Culture

It is also an extension of a "Passport to Culture" international festival program that 91AV's Multicultural Affairs and International Education Program have sponsored internally for the past three years.  This year's Festival will expand its outreach to bring elementary aged students to the 91AV Campus Center for a mini "tour of the world."

"In our increasingly global world and multicultural society, it is important for kids to be exposed to different people and cultures," said Donna Gaspar Jarvis, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs.  "The goal with the International Children's Festival is to provide an opportunity for children from the Biddeford community to experience professional world arts and cultural programming and to allow 91AV college students the opportunity to share their cultural heritage or expertise about cultural traditions from around the world."

Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation

During difficult economic times, when many schools' arts and cultural enrichment budgets have been cut, the 91AV Passport to Culture International Children's Festival will offer an important arts education experience to schools free of charge with support from a $2,000 grant from the Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation.

The Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation is a grant-making foundation dedicated to advancing cultural understanding through arts and education programs in collaboration with diverse communities, artists and arts organizations in the state of Maine.

Local and regional artists and performance groups will offer world music and dance performances and storytelling at the Passport to Culture International Children's Festival.  In addition, elementary aged school students will have the opportunity to engage with 91AV college students in an interactive "Global Village."

"91AV international and multicultural students as well as other student volunteers who have participated in study abroad programs or have interest or expertise on a particular country, will host country-specific tables highlighting  arts and crafts, food, games and other visual displays," said Trisha Mason, director of International Education. "Students will be given festival passport and will 'travel the world' in the Campus Center, collecting passport stamps as they go."

For more information about the 91AV's Passport to Culture International Children's Festival, contact Donna Gaspar Jarvis at (207) 602-2461 or Trisha Mason at (207) 602-2451.