Window on the World 2009 Publicity

Home | Entertainment | Family Fun | Food | Displays | Sales | Symposium | Mandala
Steering Committee | Go Green! | Volunteer Opportunities

Window on the World a-whirled with music! By Cella Neapolitan           First, an admission:  Music—especially dance—is my favorite part of Window on the World, Tennessee Tech University’s 11th annual international festival Saturday, April 18.  Where else can we hear the melodies and rhythms of Thailand, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Spain, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Ecuador, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Scotland, China, west Africa, Germany, France, Mexico, Australia, Appalachia and Latin America?!           All continents are represented, and even more styles, with some performers offering elements of fusion.  As an example, the Knoxville klezmer band Dor L’Dor boasts a repertoire including not just the traditional Yiddish dances, such as “Hava Nagila,” but also big band tunes and pop songs.            “Regardless of the genre, our arrangements discover fresh possibilities in traditional music,” says band leader Ken Brown, “so that even the pieces that audiences find delightfully familiar will seem brand new.”

Dor L’Dor is coming from Knoxville with its klezmer favorites to get people up and dancing at Window on the World April 18.  (Photo: Christian Lange)

        ‘Dor L’Dor’ is Hebrew for ‘generation to generation,’ quite apt for this band that began with Ken, his wife Susan, their children Michael, Daniel and Rachel, and Ken’s brother Steve.  Along with “generations” of University of Tennessee musicians, they play a range of instruments, everything from clarinet and sax, shofar and piano to trombone, euphonium, guitar and drums.

          Klezmer is believed to have begun around the 15^th century in southeastern Europe, as secular Jewish music performed at weddings and other celebrations.  Often called Yiddish music, the tradition was maintained by Jewish immigrants in the U.S. and influential in the music of such composers as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin.  A klezmer revival in the 1970s sparked bands across the U.S., which continues to this day in the likes of Dor L’Dor. 

          Dor L’Dor will perform twice at WOW, at 1:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room and again at 3:30 p.m. in the Tech Pride Room.  At the former, audience participation—that’s right, dancing—will be encouraged and led by yours truly.  Possibilities include “Zemer Atik,” meaning “ancient dance” in Hebrew, and “Miserlou,” a Greek-American folk dance.

Chinese lions will once again roar through Window on the World with color and drumbeat April 18 (TTU Photo: Dean Carothers)

Also new to WOW is the popular Nashville Latino musician Danny Salazar.  A singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso, Salazar grew up bi-lingual in Texas near the Rio Grande.  His influences have grown from the region’s cumbia, Tejano, country and pop music to that of South America and the Caribbean.  He will perform at 2 p.m. in the Tech Pride Room with a drummer from his band.  CDs of Salazar’s music, as well as that of Dor L’Dor and Shannon Holland’s djembe playing, will be sold at the Information Counter at the Roaden University Center’s Dixie Entrance.        Another newcomer is a Thai dancer, sponsored by House of Thai, who will sprinkle rose petals throughout the audience in a traditional welcome dance at 10 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room and 11 a.m. in the Tech Pride Room.  A further treat is offered by Danica Wu, who recently moved here from Sichuan, China.  She will perform a choreography based on an ethnic dance from the Sitsang region at 2:20 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room.        Also new to WOW is an international chorus directed by Laura Bettis.  Singers from India, South Korea, Ecuador, the Philippines and the U.S. will perform songs of these places as well as two original pieces dedicated to Window on the World.  One’s composer, Aaron Leverette, will accompany his song on keyboard at 10:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room.         Returning favorites include Mary Moran’s Irish step dancers, Brent Herron’s Appalachian clogging students, Jay Dawson on bagpipes with drum and dancer, the acrobatic Chinese lions, Chinese Culture Club music and dance, Indian dance including a Monica Cooley student doing Bharat Natyam and Mohira Narimetla doing classical Kathak, German Baratto’s Latin dance band, Ken and Mary on accordion, Camerata’s Renaissance recorders, Filipino tinikling, Celtic music from Heather Hayes and Shannon Duncan, didgeridoo making and playing with Owen Kniep and Alexis Pope, the Trio Vendaval mariachi band, and Shannon Holland’s west African drumming.

And once again Travis Jarrell will enthrall audiences with ethnic dances both solo and with varied partners.  With Danica Wu, Travis will perform her beloved Uzbek dance form at 11 a.m.  With Leslie Burk, accompanied by husband Ray Burk, Travis will do a Turkish-style skirt dance at 10:45 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room.           “Skirt dancing became a popular vaudeville act in the late 1800s, using the movement possibilities of the voluminous skirts traditional in East Indian, Spanish and Rom Gypsy dances” Jarrell explains.  “Leslie and I collaborated on a dance to a lively Turkish tune called Arabaya.”  Leslie is also doing a solo Spanish Gypsy dance.           Finally, as in last year, Travis will perform at 1:15 p.m. in the Tech Pride Room with Louisville dancer Jo Hadley, who has also studied extensively the classic Uzbek choreographies of the Akilov school in Tashkent.  As treasured as this 1500-year-old dance tradition is the rich costuming collected by the dancers.            “They represent an investment in exotic ikat silks, exquisite gold embroideries, antique jewelry and hats, and delicate veils,” notes Jarrell, “not to mention learning special techniques of braiding the hair and faithfully copying dress patterns to allow for effective movement of fabric and dancer alike.”           One special performance is “The Climate Project,” an update of the slide show in Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.”  Tabitha Crawford will present the hour-long show at 2 p.m. in Derryberry Hall Auditorium.  For a complete schedule of entertainment, please consult the ad in today’s paper or the website at tntech.edu/wow/.             WOW celebrates global harmony and the cultural diversity we enjoy right in our community.  The event is funded by Center Stage and sponsored by the Globalization Committee of the College of Business.  This fun, free, family event takes place Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in TTU’s Roaden University Center in Cookeville.  The symposium, “The U.S. Role in a Changing Global Order,” is Friday, April 17 at 10:10 a.m. in the RUC’s Multi-Purpose Room. Back to top

Jo Hadley, of Louisville, Kentucky and Travis Jarrell, Cookeville, will again share their artistry in Uzbek dance at Window on the World April 18. (Photo: Cella Neapolitan)

          In the Tech Pride Room, TTU language clubs will be selling French, Spanish, and German foods.  The Sociology Club is whipping up its usual Caribbean smoothies.  And Dr. Ada Haynes’ Cross-Cultural Communications class is coordinating tables featuring fifteen cultures, including Irish storytelling, Greek jewelry making, and Latin American music.

          UNICEF, as ever, will be well represented.  “While I care about the work of many service agencies, UNICEF has been a part of my life since high school,” says WOW coordinator Katie Kumar.  “Most of us who carried the little orange trick-or-treat boxes from door-to-door at Halloween are aware of the lives that were saved by those donations.  Now the students working with the festival show an environmental and social concern that is truly inspiring.”

         The psychology honorary society, for example, is hosting a corn hole game to benefit the children’s health and education organization.  The UNICEF world instrument collection will be staffed by music education students to give hands-on experience.  And One World Market will have its usual beauties for sale to benefit UNICEF as well as Brush Dance, SERRV and Cookeville’s Helping Hands food pantry.

          Other eye-catching ethnic arts include Massood Taj’s mandalas, Judy “Greyfeather” Sells’ burned-painted gourds, Peruvian jewelry and alpaca items, and A Rare Find’s imported goodies.  Cumberland Countians for Peace and Justice are also bringing SERRV crafts for sale.

The Dogra family – Rajan, his wife Naresh and son Aryan – will be bringing favorites of their India Palace restaurant to Window on the World April 18, including samosas, fresh naan, and chicken curry. (Photo by Cella Neapolitan)

One “table” not to be missed is the Information Counter at the RUC’s Dixie Avenue entrance.  First, be sure to get a passport on your way in to get stamped at the various countries you visit at Window on the World.  Then, stop at the Information Counter to check out the new WOW T-shirts and music CD’s for sale by such performers as Dor L’Dor, Djembefole, and Danny Salazar.  Plus, this is where you register for the Amazing Race game, where you complete certain tasks to win prizes. Finally, perhaps most importantly, there will be tables devoted to organizations with opportunities to get more involved internationally.  Amy Miller, coordinator of TTU’s Study Abroad program, will have information on spending a semester or more in another country.  On the flip side, the International Community Hospitality Association will provide information on the local host family program for students visiting here from other countries.           The Tennessee World Affairs Council will show the many aspects of their educational program.  Veterans for Peace will have materials on Iraqi water projects and Afghan orphan support.  Helping villages in developing countries help themselves is the focus of Heifer Project International.  Other tables will have information on the Peace Corps, child safety awareness, and WCTE’s bi-lingual Ready-to-Learn program.             WOW celebrates global harmony and the cultural diversity we enjoy right in our community.  The event is funded by Center Stage and sponsored by the Globalization Committee of the College of Business.  The festival will showcase performers, artists, craftspeople, chefs, booksellers, and others with ethnic specialties.  This fun, free, family event takes place Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in TTU’s Roaden University Center in Cookeville.  The symposium, “The U.S. Role in a Changing Global Order,” is Friday, April 17 at 10:10 a.m. in the RUC’s Multi-Purpose Room. For more information, please check the website at tntech.edu/wow/.

Back to top

Play It, Dance It, Craft It, Plant It ~ All at Window on the World ! By Cella Neapolitan           Window on the World (WOW), Tennessee Tech University’s 11th annual international festival April 18, is known for its multicultural cuisines, music, dance, costuming, and tables of artifacts, information and sales.           The Roaden University Center is a veritable beehive of activity from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including a lot of interactivity as well, whether in informal conversations across cultures or via the many opportunities built in to the festival.            Crafty kids will gravitate to the Center’s third floor, a new venue for the highly popular Hands Around the World.  Greeting families at the elevator will be Children of the World cutouts to pose in as well as the bugs and beasties of a walk-through rainforest.  Arts-and-crafts stations will be staffed by volunteers to help young artisans make their own Japanese windsocks, Malaysian fans, Danish woven hearts, South African baskets, Uzbekistan hats and more.

Paul Miller will have his bicycle rickshaw at TTU’s Window on the World April 18.  Here he is giving a ride to (left-to-right): Armenian student Susanna Safaryan, crafts co-coordinators Mel Sotis Presley and Carolyn Stumpf, and South Korean student Robert Song. (Photo by Cella Neapolitan)

          “The crafts are targeted for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, but preschoolers could be successful making the Chinese ox puppet, while older children could enjoy designing a Guatemalan worry doll or Indian bracelet,” says crafts co-coordinator Carolyn Stumpf.  “Everyone will have fun with the Korean shuttlecock, which becomes a toy similar to our hacky sack.”

           “Robert Song, a TTU student from South Korea, introduced us to this toy he grew up playing with as a kid,” agrees co-coordinator Mel Sotis Presley. “With this craft, visitors will be able to make and participate in a game similar to playing with a hacky sack.

          “What makes Hands Around the World so rewarding is that on the surface we are teaching children about other countries through fun hands-on crafts,” Presley continues, “but as you dig deeper, you see that as children learn about other cultures, they are learning to become global citizens.”

          Additional art opps will be in the Tech Pride Room, where Alexis Pope and Owen Kniep will help children decorate and play their own didgeridoos, and in the 1^st floor Lounge, where Massood Taj will have his original mandala designs ready to be colored and then scanned for a collage for next year’s festival.

          Sport-loving kids and adults have something new to look forward to at WOW this year.  TTU’s chapter of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, is hosting a Cornhole Tournament for the benefit of UNICEF.  Similar to horseshoes but with holed platforms and various forms of bean-type bags, Cornhole is played throughout the U.S.

          “The tournament will run all day on Roaden University Center’s front porch,” says Joyce Leigh, vice-president of TTU’s Psi Chi chapter.  “There will be a minimal fee for adult teams, a children’s game available for free, and prizes awarded to the winners.”

          The students will also be selling beverages and UNICEF cards, with all collected funds going to aid children caught in armed conflicts through initiatives in health, nutrition, education, and trauma counseling. 

          “So as you explore the wonderful flavors of cuisine from around the world, listen to and watch the multi-cultural entertainment being offered at Window on the World, please stop by Psi Chi’s Cornhole Tournament on Dixie Avenue,” invites Leigh.  “Have some good ole American fun, play your heart out, and be a champion to children around the world.”

          Finally, Earth-lovers of all ages can celebrate an early Earth Day, sponsored by Dr. Lachelle Norris’ Environmental Sociology class.  “For the class project, we discussed several options, but everyone latched on to this idea,” says Dr. Norris.  “At first we thought about having it on the actual Earth Day.  But we knew a lot of school kids would be coming to WOW, and we want to get the word out about environmental issues.”

          This early Earth Day will be on the Roaden University Center’s South Patio and extend to Derryberry Hall.  The space will hold a carbon footprint station, samples of organic and whole foods, info on green groups and companies, seeds and soil for kids to plant, sidewalk chalk art, face-painting, and jewelry-making for young environmentalists. 

          While eco-minded musicians will play just outside Derryberry Hall, inside Tabitha Crawford will present “The Climate Project” at 2 p.m. in the auditorium.  This hour-long update of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” is shown internationally by such volunteers as Ms. Crawford, who is president Rayan Solutions in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

          Coordinator Nadine Armstrong will once again be the Clean Commission’s presence at WOW, this year bringing 14 recycling containers to the event.  Also expected to contribute to the early Earth Day inter-activities are TTU student organizations GO (Great Outdoors) and Students for Human Rights, who will have easy-make T-shirt shopping bags.

            WOW celebrates global harmony and the cultural diversity we enjoy right in our community.  The event is funded by Center Stage and sponsored by the Globalization Committee of the College of Business.  Anyone who would like to volunteer for WOW should contact coordinator Katie Kumar at <kjkumar@tntech.edu> or 931-372-6197 /  931-528-7968 (evenings).

This fun, free, family event takes place Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in TTU’s Roaden University Center in Cookeville.  The festival will showcase performers, artists, craftspeople, chefs, booksellers, and others with ethnic specialties.  The symposium, “The U.S. Role in a Changing Global Order,” is Friday, April 17 at 10:10 a.m. in the RUC’s Multi-Purpose Room.  For more information, please consult the website <http://tntech.edu/wow>

Back to top

People, C’mon … It’s a Window on the World! By Cella Neapolitan           Are today’s young people socially aware and contributing?  A recent Harris Interactive poll suggests so, finding that more teenagers volunteer to support charity (56%) than have a part-time job (39%).  Students at Tennessee Tech University are no exception, especially in pulling together Window on the World, the annual international festival April 18.  In fact, a student is coordinating volunteer efforts for the event.           Susanna Safaryan came to Cookeville from Armenia six months ago to study World Culture and Business at TTU.  While volunteering isn’t common among the people of Armenia, lending a helping hand has always been an important part of her life.

          Director of Policy Analysis and dialogue at the Stanley Foundation in Muscatine, Iowa, Dr. Kraig is a political scientist who has long studied the Middle East, especially regarding security issues.  He is being brought to Cookeville in conjunction with the Tennessee World Affairs Council http://www.tennessee-world-affairs-council.org/. Dr. Kraig’s speech is expected to address the futility of isolationism in a highly-interconnected world, with complex problems and such new players as Brazil, China, Turkey and India. 

          WOW celebrates global harmony and the cultural diversity we enjoy right in our community.  The event is funded by Center Stage and sponsored by the Globalization Committee of the College of Business.  Anyone who would like to participate in WOW should contact coordinator Katie Kumar at <kjkumar@tntech.edu> or 931-372-6197 or visit the volunteering web page at http://tntech.edu/wow/volunteer.html.

Each year WOW is dedicated to someone in the Upper Cumberland whose recognition of the world as one—a circle of humanity—has led to international activism and friendship.  The Mandala Award is presented to someone who has learned much of other cultures, cares for humanity everywhere, and actively pursues this international interest right here, benefiting our whole community.

If you would like to nominate someone for the 2009 WOW Mandala Award, please write a one-page letter describing how the person’s qualities and activities fit these criteria.  The letter should be addressed to:  Katie Kumar, WOW Coordinator, TTU Box 5023, Cookeville TN 38505.  The deadline for nominating letters is March 23.  For more information, and to submit your nominating letter online, please check the website at http://tntech.edu/wow/mandala.html.

Back to top

A Window on the World Opening this April! By Cella Neapolitan           Window on the World 2009, Tennessee Tech University’s 11th annual international festival, is coming to Cookeville April 17-18 and promises a rainbow of cultural experiences from around the world.  And YOU can help make that happen.             WOW is known for celebrating global harmony and the cultural diversity we enjoy right in our community.  The event is funded by Center Stage and sponsored by the Globalization Committee of the College of Business.  Anyone who would like to participate in WOW -- as a volunteer or to set up a table with an ethnic focus --  should contact coordinator Katie Kumar at <kjkumar@tntech.edu> or 931-372-6197 /  931-528-7968 (evenings).

           This fun, free, family event takes place Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in TTU’s Roaden University Center in Cookeville.  The festival will showcase performers, artists, craftspeople, chefs, booksellers, and others with ethnic specialties.  The symposium is Friday, April 17 at 10:10 a.m. in the RUC’s Multi-Purpose Room.

For more information, and to submit your nominating letter online, please check the website at tntech.edu/wow/.

Each year WOW is dedicated to someone in the Upper Cumberland whose recognition of the world as one—a circle of humanity—has led to international activism and friendship.  The Mandala Award is presented to someone who has learned much of other cultures, cares for humanity everywhere, and actively pursues this international interest right here, benefiting our whole community. If you would like to nominate someone for the 2009 WOW Mandala Award, please write a one-page letter describing how the person’s qualities and activities fit these criteria.  The letter should be addressed to:  Katie Kumar, WOW Coordinator, TTU Box 5023, Cookeville TN 38505.  The deadline for nominating letters is March 12.

Back to top

Cella Neapolitan       931-526-5515       cella1@charter.net