Ivette de Assis-Wilson shows a map of Brazil to Brandon and Jozy Hudson Saturday during Humans United for Equality's Celebration of Unity at Pike Place. Countries around the world were represented at the festival.
Fin Bandholz smeared honey on a piece of bread, offering a taste of home to a visitor experiencing world cultures at Pike Place.
The authentic dish was served Saturday in the German booth at Humans United for Equality’s Celebration of Unity, where Bandholz, a new teaching assistant at Wabash College, joined Ronja Sieberot, an exchange student at Crawfordsville High School, to introduce Hoosiers to German culture.
“[Crawfordsville] is very welcoming, and nice and friendly,” said Bandholz, who arrived in town three weeks ago from his city of about 250,000.
The third annual festival put a spotlight on global traditions and the local immigrant and LGBTQ communities, as nonprofit organizations registered voters and promoted diversity initiatives, youth services and other causes.
A Wabash College student wrote children’s names in Chinese and families learned about the culture in Africa, Mexico, Brazil and Germany. Members of the city’s Human Rights Commission were on hand along with HUE’s Immigrant Allies Community and Crawfordsville Pride, which continues raising money for next summer’s LGBTQ pride festival.
In the Name that Religion booth, children spun a board game spinner to select a theme relating to tenants of seven faiths. First Christian Church senior minister Darla Goodrich read an Islamic passage from a card.
“I think it strengthens the understanding of our own tradition, our conversation with people of other traditions,” Goodrich said of the game. “We find common threads that pull us together.”
