Sunday was the sixth annual Sacramento World Music & Dance Festival (Sac World Fest), and American River College was well-represented. A long table in the Global Village was occupied by ARC representatives, one of whom was ESL professor Oranit Limmaneeprasert, who said ARC has been a regular participant for five years now.
“I consider this a reaching-out activity, as well as a cultural diversity activity. We have printed materials about ARC, and help people learn more about ARC,” Limmaneeprasert said while a belly-dancing act entertained at the front of the tent.
At ARC’s table were books from all over the world from the collection of Associate Vice President of Instruction Dr. Lisa Lawrenson, along with cultural items such as African headdresses and clothing. During the day was an Iranian cooking demonstration by Parisa Samadi, another ESL staff member and a former student herself.
Also at the festival was the ARC Latin Jazz Band, a program with 27 student musicians coordinated by professor Dyne Eifertsen. They opened the musical and dance performances at the main stage with a 40-minute set of songs meant to “make people dance,” Eifertsen said at the outset of the performance. The early morning crowd was reluctant to comply, but applauded loudly and warmly after each song.
“We’ve been playing the Sac World Fest for three or four years,” said Eifertsen. “We’ve played events throughout Northern California, community college events, (and) for governors.”
The goal of the Sac World Fest, as stated in the program, is “to celebrate our cultural and ethnic fusion.” Sacramento is currently recognized as the 12th-most diverse city in the U.S., and the festival declares it the “most multi-ethnically integrated big city” in America, even though New Jersey, Oakland, and New York all appear ahead of it on the list. But there is no denying the wide spread of cultures at an event such as this, where you can see anything from native Bolivian dancing to the headlining Hip-Hop dance-off featuring the drumline from Grant Union High School, all for free.
Limmaneeprasert said of the festival, “It’s a great thing to share with the world and the public, and a great way to celebrate diversity together.”