For four days, Middletown became a gathering place for art, culture, food and community as the 2nd Annual Arts & Culture Festival brought together local residents, artists, vendors and visitors at FTC Northern from Oct. 1–4.

The free festival featured cultural performances, art exhibitions, international food and family activities, with participants representing different cultural traditions. But beyond the performances and displays, organizers hoped to create a place where people could meet, share their cultures and build connections within the Middletown community.

Artists from different cultural backgrounds celebrate diversity through music, dance, and performance on the festival stage. (Image: Stephanie Zhang)
Audience members surround the stage, happily watching performances and enjoying the lively cultural celebrations. (Image: Stephanie Zhang)

Building a bridge through culture

Janet Xiong, an organizer from Northern, said the idea came from the campus’s location in the center of Middletown and the many communities around it.

“In order to bridge the gap between our campus and our communities, we thought might be a good idea to have a platform like this, doing their arts and culture,” Xiong said.

The goal was for people to “share their values, their concepts, and especially their own arts and their own cultures.”

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“People come together, they share, and they showcase, and they celebrate,” she said.

Organizers brought it back after receiving encouragement from the community.

This year’s performances included Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean and African traditions, while food vendors offered flavors from different cultures.

Xiong hoped visitors would gain more than entertainment. Through the performances and art exhibition, she said, people could experience “the depth of what we try to present” and feel inspired.

Art as a way to share

H. Gene Washington, owner of Abstract Wired Bonsai & Dioramas, displayed intricate “Trees of Life” pieces combining wood, wiring and pottery.

“Everything we have to do has to be connected,” he said.

He originally created the work “to kill time” and “for my own eye pleasure.” But after discovering that people appreciated his creations, his perspective changed.

“When it came to me that other people appreciated it, I wanted to share it,” he said.

For Washington, participating in the festival was about “exposure”—sharing something unique with the community.

Gan Jing Kids and Gan Jing Campus, family-friendly learning initiatives from New York-based digital platform Gan Jing World, engage children and families with interactive activities during the festival. (Image: courtesy of Arts & Culture Festival)
Pho65, one of the festival’s food vendors, serves Vietnamese dishes to attendees during the event. (Image: courtesy of Arts & Culture Festival)

Discovering other cultures

Sara Morales, a Puerto Rican artist and co-founder of Saviana Arts, came from Monroe to participate. She and fellow artist Vivian Lipman-Denis focus on contemporary Puerto Rican and Nuyorican life.

“We just wanted to share our culture with the rest of the world,” Morales said.

Morales said the festival also gave her an opportunity to become part of a community outside her hometown.

“It means to me … becoming part of the community,” she said.

Kathleen Slattery of Zen Garden Gift Shop similarly appreciated seeing artists and cultures together.

“I hope they enjoy to see all the different artists in the community, coming together, and learn about everybody’s culture and their different arts,” she said.

A place for connection

The festival attracted visitors who discovered it in different ways.

Bob and his wife Trisha happened to be in the area and came across the event. Their reaction was simple: “Very good. It’s very nice.”

Dean, who attended with his wife Robin and their friend Mary, said they had heard about the festival at the Moon Festival two weeks earlier. They enjoyed “everything”—the singing, dancing, food and performances.

When asked what he hoped people would take away, Dean answered: “Unity.”

Living in Kingston, he said he had not previously known about the campus. He said he would return next year.

Part of the art exhibition features paintings and mixed-media works by local and international artists, celebrating diverse cultures through visual storytelling. (Image: Jane Gao)
Part of the art exhibition features paintings and mixed-media works by local and international artists, celebrating diverse cultures through visual storytelling. (Image: courtesy of Arts & Culture Festival)

More than a festival

For Xiong, the festival’s value lies in what happens when people are given a reason to come together.

The event brought together artists, families, local residents and visitors from other towns. Some came to perform or share their work; others simply came to see what was happening. Along the way, they shared food, music, traditions and personal experiences.

For the participants, it meant sharing something personal, discovering other cultures and becoming part of the community.

That may be what makes a community festival meaningful—not only the performances or artwork, but the conversations that happen between them.

In Middletown, the festival gave people a place to meet across cultural and geographic boundaries and an opportunity to see the people and traditions that make the community what it is.

Original article
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