While many activities have been canceled by the pandemic this year, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s popular annual One World Cultural Festival will go on celebrating the rich and diverse cultures of the campus just has it has for more than 20 years. This year, however, it will take place online.
Organizers said they never considered canceling the annual festival, which will take place Saturday. There’s even a chance for the public to partake in online concerts, demonstrations and lectures.
“We know that the Cultural Festival has always been popular with the Bradford community,” said festival co-chair Amy Bilezikian, director of student engagement and assessment. “We made sure we found ways that members of the community could still be involved.”
Registration is required for public events. More information and registration is available at https://www.upb.pitt.edu/student-affairs/student-engagement/one-world-cultural-festival.
Events begin with a kick-off and performances from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Spoken-word artist Ebo Barton is this year’s featured performer.
Barton is a Seattle artist who identifies as transgender, non-binary, Black and Filipino. In 2016, Barton placed fifth in the world at the Individual World Poetry Slam. In 2017, Barton co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning play “Rising Up.”
A leader in arts and activism, Barton is committed to creating opportunities for others to organize, heal and rejoice.
The Seattle Gay News said Barton is “unapologetic, smart and sharp-tongued.”
Also during the Kick-Off event, some members of Pitt-Bradford's a cappella group, Angelical Pitches, will sing and perform spoken word, and members of the Pitt-Bradford community will talk about their cultures in a video presentation.
From 4 to 5 p.m., Dr. Diego Cortes, assistant professor of communications, and Dr. Lauren Yaich, associate professor of biology, will talk about how COVID-19 vaccines work and how scientists in different parts of the globe were able to make the vaccines in record time. They will also be joined by Dr. Yvon Woappi ’11, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University and a postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Patricia McClain, a nursing faculty member and the ASN program coordinator from the Pitt-Titusville campus. There will be time for questions at the end.
From 5 to 5:30 p.m., Kaitlin Zapel ’12, instructor of anthropology, will present, “Telling Cultural Stories through Textiles.” Zapel will share examples of crafts from cultures around the world that provide clues about what life is like in those areas and how the items were made. A simple weaving demonstration requiring two-to-four sheets of colored construction paper will be used.
From 7 to 7:30 p.m., Dr. Max F. Jensen, visiting assistant professor of Spanish and comparative literature, will present, “A Brief History of Flamenco: Passion, Virtuosos and Ethnic Diversity.” Jensen will give a brief history of the art form interspersed with clips of singing, dancing and guitar playing that embody the dark soul of flamenco. Also hear about how flamenco was molded by numerous other cultures and, despite its roots, has become a central part of Spanish culture.
Finally, from 7:30 to 8 p.m., Chef Ben Dansberger will give a demonstration on how to make his Rockin’ Guac and pico de gallo. Sign up to participate to receive the live virtual demonstration link and a list of ingredients to purchase if you’d like to follow along.
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