Sun 8/25 @ 11AM-6PM
All too often, and even more in the past decade, we’ve heard politicians feed us horror stories about immigrants. And yet, we’re a nation of immigrants, whose diversity is our greatest strength. And Cleveland is a city of immigrants, a background honored by the Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, founded more than a century ago. At that time, most of the immigrants — and gardens — were from European countries. But in recent years, new gardens have been created by immigrant groups from Asian, African and South American cultures, as well as the story of African Americans. There’s even a garden in the planning stages for Native Americans.
There’s a day when you can revel in all this diversity represented by the gardens: One World Day. It all begins at 11am at the gardens’ Centennial Peace Plaza with the naturalization ceremony where you can see proud new Americans who arrived here from around the world getting sworn in as citizens. At noon, the Parade of Flags steps off from the Ethiopian Garden on the north and makes its way down MLK Boulevard to the German Garden, with delegations flaunting their native attire, dancing, playing music, waving banners and kicking soccer balls.
After that, the whole boulevard, which is closed to traffic for the day, will be bustling with action, with each garden hosting activities and performances, some selling foods and crafts from their native countries. Stroll the length of the street (or bike or take a scooter) enjoy all the offerings which include food trucks and booths sponsored by a wide variety of organizations and local government agencies. There’s a children’s village too to keep the young ones entertained, but we’re betting many of them will be fascinated by the array of colorful activities going on in the cultural gardens.
One World Day is free and open to all — all ages, all races, all ethnicities and people of all types.
Cleveland, OH 44108