Multicultural Celebration honors Lynnfield’s diversity

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Hundreds of residents came together to celebrate different countries and cultures during the Lynnfield Multicultural Celebration on April 6.

Lynnfield for Love hosted the Multicultural Celebration in partnership with the Lynnfield Cultural Council once again.

“We are proud and honored to be hosting the Multicultural Celebration once again this year,” said Lynnfield for Love President Darlene Kumar. “It really fills us with joy watching families share their culture and customs with the Lynnfield community.”

Lynnfield for Love Treasurer Sadaf Weisenfeld agreed.

“We are thrilled to have participants from 11 different countries this year,” said Weisenfeld. “We had an exceptional turnout, which was great.”

Lynnfield for Love member Diane Courtney, who served as the celebration’s coordinator of culture display tables, echoed her colleagues’ sentiment.

“The Multicultural Celebration has definitely become my favorite community event here in Lynnfield,” said Courtney. “I consider it an absolute honor and pleasure to celebrate and learn more about the wide variety of cultures of our Lynnfield neighbors.”

Similar to previous Multicultural Celebrations, the middle school cafeteria was transformed into the Hall of Countries Interactive Exhibit. The countries that were featured in the exhibit were Belarus, Brazil, China, Greece, India, Korea, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“All of the families who are representing countries live in Lynnfield,” said Kumar. “They are our neighbors. It’s great that they are taking the time to celebrate their culture.”

Courtney was also very appreciative of the Hall of Countries Interactive Exhibit’s participants.

“I’d like to personally thank all the families who invested such a tremendous about of time and effort creating and hosting all of these eye-catching, welcoming, interactive, meaningful, informative, creative and engaging table presentations,” said Courtney. “These types of face-to-face interactions help us build trust, respect, appreciation and understanding among our neighbors, classmates and fellow community members. Most importantly, I believe this event strongly reinforces the message that cultural diversity is valued and embraced by our Lynnfield community.”

Courtney also noted that Lynnfield for Love “welcomed the Peña family, who were here representing their Peruvian culture for their very first time at our celebration.”

“They were so eager and excited to share their heritage, their beautiful display was the first one set up and ready to welcome event-goers,” said Courtney.

Young children were given a passport that could be stamped at each country’s table. Additionally, adolescents had the opportunity to play the “Countries Matching Game,” which asked them to match the 11 countries with its capital city and flag. Prizes were awarded to children and adolescents after they completed both activities. There was also a quiet area called the Chill Zone set up by the LMS gym that enabled kids to relax and read books provided by the Lynnfield Public Library.

The Multicultural Celebration also featured a variety of different performers. The Chiu Mo Kwoon Chinese Lion Dancers entertained the crowd in the LMS cafeteria, and received a thunderous round of applause from the Multicultural Celebration’s attendees.

“The Chinese Lion Dancers have been a tradition since Lynnfield for Love hosted its first Multicultural Celebration in 2017,” said Kumar. “It was really exciting to have them come. We passed out little envelopes that were stuffed with $1, and the kids fed the envelopes to the dragons. It’s always amazing to watch. It’s a wonderful expression of dance. This year is the Year of the Dragon, which made the Chinese Lion Dancers more exciting.”

Grooversity Boston, a Brazilian drum group that performed in the LMS auditorium and cafeteria, was a big hit with attendees as well.

“Grooversity donates their profits to Somerville Public Schools’ music program,” said Kumar. “They are a really cool group. We found them on Arts for Learning Massachusetts’ website when we were doing research while trying to find performers.”

Olenka Tsar also performed the Ukrainian bandura, a folk instrument, in the LMS auditorium.

“Olenka immigrated to the United States from Ukraine last year,” said Kumar. “She did a beautiful job singing and playing the Ukrainian bandura. We are excited that she performed. She is incredibly talented.”

The Triveni School of Dance performed the Bharatanatyam, which is an Indian classical dance.

“We were very excited to have them,” said Kumar. “Neena Gulati has been teaching classical Indian dance for 30 years, and is the owner of the Triveni School of Dance. It was beautiful.”

Kumar was thrilled that hundreds of residents attended the Multicultural Celebration.

“It’s great that we had so many people come and explore,” said Kumar. “It’s important that people learn about different backgrounds and different cultures. We always ask our country hosts to share how they celebrate their culture and customs while living in the United States. When you look at their tables, you will see they brought a little bit of their culture here. It’s beautiful. We know how much time it takes to put the tables together, and we are so appreciative of them being at the Multicultural Celebration.”

Interim Superintendent Tom Geary, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kevin Cyr, Huckleberry Hill School Principal Melissa Wyland, Middle School Principal Stephen Ralston, Middle School Assistant Principal Jeremy Greenwood and Lynnfield High School Principal Tricia Puglisi attended the Multicultural Celebration. School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio, and School Committee members Phil McQueen and Jim Dillon also attended the event.

Lynn City Councilor Nicole McClain and State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) also attended the Multicultural Celebration.

“Thank you to Lynnfield for Love and the Lynnfield Cultural Council for another wonderful Multicultural Festival,” Crighton wrote on his Facebook page. “The kids had a blast.”

Kumar thanked Lynnfield Public Schools, the town of Lynnfield, MarketStreet Lynnfield and the Lynnfield Public Library for supporting the Multicultural Celebration once again.

“We also want to thank the Lynnfield Cultural Council for writing the grant that helps fund our program,” said Kumar. “We also want to thank the Massachusetts Cultural Council for giving us a $2,500 Festival and Projects Grant.”