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Celebrate! A Fort Bend Cultural Festival

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The first annual Celebrate! festival was held on September 19, 2009 at the Fort Bend Museum. Fort Bend County residents learned about the diverse heritage of our community -- including the Hispanic, German and Czech cultures -- at this FREE family event. Check out our photos from this year's festival!

For the past 15 years, the Museum Association presented the Fiestas Patrias Heritage Festival as a tribute to the area's unique Hispanic influence. In 2008, after the festival was canceled due to Hurricane Ike, Museum Association staff decided it was time for a change.

"We wanted to expand the festival to represent even more aspects of Fort Bend County's diversity," said Education Coordinator Claire Rogers. "We will still have the Hispanic activities and dancers, but we will be adding the German and Czech components, too. In future years, we hope to include all the cultures that are represented here in Fort Bend County."

Activities of the day included face-painting, a "cultural passport" scavenger hunt, ethnic crafts and food-tasting, live music, entertainment and tours of the historic Moore Home and Long-Smith Cottage.

Entertainment was the central focus of the 2009 festival. Ballet Folklorico kicked the afternoon off with traditional Hispanic dancing. After that, local band Fish N Chips played a selection of American, Irish and Celtic tunes. The Houston International Folk Dancers entertained the audience with dances from various countries, including Israel, Romania and Bulgaria. "Accordion Cowboy" Chris Rybak wrapped up the festival with lively renditions of Czech and German favorites. Inside the Museum gallery, author Celia Hayes gave readings from her books. Hayes is the author of the "Adelsverein Trilogy," historical fiction about immigrants to the central Texas hills. The Fort Bend Chapter of the Texas German Society taught attendees about the origins of the Christmas tree and how to make paper snowflakes; the Czech Heritage Society of Fort Bend County gave noodle-making demonstrations and taught numerous Czech words and phrases to festival-goers.