With the goal to bring together people from many cultures and backgrounds for a celebration of art, music and dance with an array of activities for both children and adults, the 14th annual All People’s Day Diversity Festival will return to Delray Beach’s Pompey Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 18.
“All People’s Day is a reminder that we all need to be for each other, rather than against one another,” Susan Berkowitz-Schwartz, the festival’s founder and president, said in a statement. “It is an important message now when there is so much division in our country and in our world.”
The over 50,000 victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria will be honored this year with a tribute art project that includes children writing letters to loved ones and making flags of the two countries.
The day begins with a free Craft Dough People project from 9:30 to 11 a.m. for children ages 4 to 11, which has become the traditional kick-off to the festival. Using dough representing all skin colors, “the lesson is that we’re all made from the same materials and therefore we should all be treated with equal respect,” Berkowitz-Schwartz said in a statement. Advance registration is required for the activity with 30 spots available. Email susan@allpeoplesday.org or call 561-495-9818.
Starting at 11 a.m., the free indoor All People’s Day Festival, presented in partnership with the Lake Worth Interfaith Network and the Delray Beach Parks & Recreation Department, will feature 15 diverse performers, including the Delray Divas step dancers; San Francisco Taiko Dojo playing Japanese drums; Chinese Performing Arts; Jewish soul singer Carol Garrett; the Spotlighters singing and dancing; Jayadevi Arts IndoCaribbean dancers; Caribbean American performer Angel; and singers Dr. Phillip Dukes and Cecelia St. King.
Attendees can sample free food from local restaurants such as Bud’s Chicken & Seafood, Ziree Thai & Sushi, Agliolio (Italian) as well as Indian, Haitian and Spanish cuisine.
Kids will find interactive activities from free arts projects such as puppet making with a stage to perform, a family mural, world puzzle and clowns. For teens and adults, there will be interactive word games by nonprofits, a health fair and selfie opportunities.
In addition to Pareichuk selling her artwork, Berkowitz-Schwartz said pieces by “Artists In Prison” will be for sale in which prisoners get the funds from the artwork purchased and Eddie Osborne’s Pan-African Arts will sell African instruments, among other information booths and games.
Berkowitz-Schwartz said it’s her dream to make All People’s Day a national holiday.
“All People’s Day is a fun event for everyone, but it is so much more,” she said in a statement. “It’s about connecting people from different cultures and about learning from one another through the arts.”
Pompey Park is at 1101 NW Second St. Visit allpeoplesday.org.
