Fare thee well, Faire

The minute the word "multicultural" appears in print, you know what's coming.

And right on schedule, it did. When The Press story announcing the fourth annual Multicultural Faire at Lakes Magnet Middle School appeared on March 21, predictably, the online comments about reverse racism, rampant liberalism and student indoctrination popped up like blisters on sore feet.

The sad thing is, nobody's feet - or heads - need to hurt over this.

Faire founder Dave Eubanks has again assembled a blend of talented and fascinating people who will perform for the crowd tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lakes. Dozens of others there will share artifacts and information from their rich cultural backgrounds, including American and white European. All of that is free. Tasty food from foreign lands as well as just down the street will be available for sale.

The Multicultural Faire is exactly what Eubanks has always described: An entertaining and educational event that has no agenda other than to offer something different to locals hungry for a step outside the same ol', same ol'.

Perhaps it is no accident that the faire arrives shortly after many North Idahoans have traveled elsewhere for spring break. One of the reasons visitors say they enjoy this event so much is because they didn't have the time or the money for family vacations to distant places. The Multicultural Faire does a nice job of bringing the world to a middle school gymnasium for a few hours each spring.

We warmly and respectfully invite everyone, from the most eager to the most wary, to come to the faire tomorrow and see why it's attracting more than 1,000 visitors. Judge for yourself, but be prepared to learn a little and have some fun.