Children who wonder “Who am I and where do I belong?” and “Who are they and why are they different?” will find a few answers to those questions when Navy Pier becomes a pint-size microcosm of the world during the International Children’s Fest, presented by the Chicago Children’s Museum.
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Children will be provided with pretend passports so they can take a make-believe trip around the world to play new games, taste exotic foods, make an African mask and learn Japanese origami.
Recycle artist Maria Villareal will be on hand to help children make felt finger puppets of a bird and a jaguar who play an important role in an Aztec story about a young warrior who challenges the rain god to end a drought. For some children this will be a tale about someone else’s culture, while for others it will be a part of their own heritage, since what is a foreign land for some is familiar ground for others.
“I’m Mexican-American but I didn’t learn about my culture until after I got married, and it has really enriched my life,” says Villareal.
The word “foreign,” according to the dictionary, can mean “abnormal,” “alien” or “irrelevant,” but at the International Fest it means “intriguing” or “interesting.” “In their lives children are going to have experiences with many different people and I think it’s important for them to learn about different cultures so they won’t be prejudiced,” says Villareal.
The Fest will also present a variety of international performers, including Nelson Gill, who sings folk songs from Belize; the Pocomania Caribbean Dance Company, representing Jamaican culture; and the Boitsov Classical Ballet Company, presenting dances from Russia.
Such dances emphasize what is unique in a culture but also underscore what unites people. “The dancers’ posture and the way they hold their arms expresses the temperament of their country, but folk dances from different countries have identical steps,” says the company’s artistic director, Elizabeth Boitsov. “Dance is truly an international art because of these crossovers from one country to another.”
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The Chicago Children’s Museum’s 8th Annual International Children’s Fest, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Navy Pier Ballroom, Grand Avenue at Lake Michigan, free. 312-527-1000.