Cultural kaleidoscope
Hattie Owens, 12, of Coeur d’Alene, tries her hand at moving jelly beans with chopsticks as she and her cousin Scout Owens, 13, visit a Japanese informational booth during the Community Multicultural Faire on Saturday. DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Wearing Latin sugar skull paint, Izzy Lilley, 11, of Coeur d'Alene, traces a unicorn outline on 6-year-old Magnolia Meyer's face Saturday during the 10th annual Community Multicultural Faire in Lakes Magnet Middle School. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Percussion bounces off the walls and into the halls of Lakes Magnet Middle School on Saturday as James Schmehl leads the Sorensen Magnet School Drumming Team in a performance for the Community Multicultural Faire. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Community members browse booths and try different ethnic foods as they enjoy the 10th annual Lakes Middle School Community Multicultural Faire in the gym on Saturday. Countries represented included France, Italy, Norway and Mexico. Information about diversity and inclusion was also available at different booths. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — Quickly, but carefully, Hattie Owens, 12, used her chopstick chops to beat the clock and drop jelly beans into a little black bowl.
She and her cousin, Scout Owens, 13, enjoyed the challenge at a Japanese informational booth as they wandered through the 10th annual Community Multicultural Faire in the Lakes Magnet Middle School gym on Saturday.
"I've never been to this type of event or anything, and it's really cool to see how other cultures do things and how their foods are different," Scout said. "It's really fun and awesome to learn about all the other cultures.”
"It's really good that we get to learn about (the different cultures) because a lot of people aren't very cultural and they go to different countries but they don't really learn about the cultures," Hattie said. "That can be a little rude if you culturally appropriate something."
The Coeur d'Alene cousins were among hundreds of community members who stopped into the Multicultural Faire for family-friendly fun that included booths about Norway, Ireland, France, Japan, Mexico, Italy and American Indian culture as well as information about diversity, inclusion and other community resources that lift up people from all walks of life.
The day featured musical performances by local artists and school groups and invited guests to participate in activities like virtual reality, a prize wheel, henna tattoos, face-painting and a coloring station.
Faire organizer and Lakes math teacher Kristin Odenthal, who has experience serving in the Peace Corps and teaching abroad, said this year had the biggest opening the event has ever seen. She said she hoped to see as many as 600 people or more come through; she made sure to credit Multicultural Faire founder Dave Eubanks for starting it all a decade ago.
"I just feel excited," she said. "I feel that more and more people are wanting to come together."
Bringing people together in this way is something about which Odenthal is incredibly passionate.
"We need to celebrate differences and recognize our differences, our strengths, when we come together," she said. "It's something I always believe in in my classrooms and I want to see it as a bigger picture in the community."