The Multicultural Council of the Riverside Museum Associates will present the Family Village Festival, an outdoor event for adults and children, in downtown Riverside on October 1, 2011.

The one-day celebration of cultures presents singing, music, dance, crafts, art and food from more than fifteen different cultures. Representatives from these cultures will entertain on stage as well as in “villages” so that visitors can learn more about the culture in an entertaining way. Cultures represented will explain and demonstrate traditional musical instruments as well as demonstrate ways to make some of them with re-purposed materials. Children will have the opportunity to learn songs from different countries such as Japan and China. The Festival will take place outdoors between Lemon and Orange Streets on Mission Inn Avenue from 10 am until 5 pm. Vehicular traffic will be closed on this block from 6 am until 6 pm.

The event is free to the public and this year’s Honorary Chair is the Honorable Mayor of Riverside, Ronald O. Loveridge. Mayor Loveridge has been a long time supporter of multicultural projects in the City. Along with the support of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum and the Riverside Museum Associates, the colorful event promises a variety of music – the theme this year is Music Around the World. Some of the cultures to be represented are China, Scandinavia, Peru, Samoa, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan and more. There will be craft activities designed for children and special projects such as the Passport to Culture for the first 500 children to sign up at the event.

This year a new feature of the Festival will be the eco-friendly aspect of its production. “The Family Village Festival believes that protecting the environment is an important step in promoting healthy families and communities.” Beginning with this year’s event, the festival will incorporate environmentally-responsible strategies and practices as fundamental and integrated components of the operations and programs of the Family Village Festival. The Family Village Festival is committed to partnering with others to make our community a more sustainable place to live, work and play.

The event has been designed and developed yearly since 1997 – with a hiatus between 2008 and the present – by the Multicultural Council, a cadre of volunteers interested in promoting a better understanding of the cultures represented in the community.

For more information contact Katherine Wilson,  Family Village Festival Volunteer Chairperson at (951) 283-4347 or email doplerkat@yahoo.com