Sun 8/28 @ 11AM

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, which were founded in 1916 with the Shakespeare Garden (now the British Garden), have been celebrating One World Day since shortly after Word War II. In the face of waves of demonization of immigrants, including recent attempts to depict Spanish-speaking refugees at the southern border as a dangerous horde, the cultural gardens have been a focal point for emphasizing their contributions.

Its 76^th One World Day taking place this week includes gardens honoring cultures no one dreamed back then would have a foothold in Cleveland. Ethiopian, Lebanese, Colombian, Pakistani and Vietnamese are some of the most recent, with Korean, Mexican and Egyptian gardens in the pipeline.

You can see most of the cultures in their traditional garb and musical instruments in the Parade of Flags, which follows the traditional opening naturalization ceremony, taking place at 11am at the new Centennial Peace Plaza, which was dedicated in 2020. This year’s grand marshall is former Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu, now a Cleveland resident who runs a gymnasts training center here. She’s second-generation Romanian, born in the U.S. to immigrant parents. The Parade of Flags is followed by a welcoming ceremony at the Peace Plaza; Mayor Justin Bibb is expected to be present.

After the parade, take time to walk down Martin Luther King Jr Drive (which will be closed to traffic) to visit the various gardens, where there’ll be performances, information and displays of traditional arts, as well as a variety of ethnic foods for sale. There’ll be a children’s village with family activities, a beer garden for the adults, and lots of information booths from local businesses, organizations and social service agencies. The event is free; find free parking at the marina at the north end of MLK.

Clevelandoneworldday.org

One World Day Returns to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens for Year 76

Sun 8/28 @ 11AM

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