Celebrating Cultures 2025

Community Art & Cultural Exchange
Co-Presented with Niijii Radio
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
@ NYM Cultural Center & Library

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE CULTURAL CENTER & LIBRARY DUE TO WEATHER. Same time, same events, just indoors, because we are flexible like that! 🙂 Join us!

Join us indoors at the Cultural Center (24 North Main Avenue, NYM) and the NYM Public Library (30 North Main Avenue, NYM), and if weather allows, outdoors under tents in the back library parking lot. Big thanks to our neighbors, the New York Mills Public Library, for sharing their space for this event.

Performances will continue as scheduled. Activities and demonstrations that are still possible will be held indoors at the Cultural Center and next door at the NYM Public Library. If weather allows, we will also put up tents in the back parking lot and have some activities outside as well. 

Thank you for your patience as we do our best with the unpredictable weather!

 

Join us for the 5th Annual Celebrating Cultures, a vibrant, family-friendly event that brings together community members of all backgrounds for an evening of art, music, food, and cultural exchange!

This community gathering is co-hosted by the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center and Niijii Radio, White Earth.

Whether you’ve attended in years past or this is your first time, you’ll enjoy a beautiful, welcoming celebration of cultures in New York Mills.

✨ Featuring:

  • Live Cultural Performances Schedule

    • 4:30 Kari Tauring Flute Performance Featuring Norwegian Nature Instruments. Kari Tauring is a Nordic root musician, author, and teacher. She was recently in Denmark and Norway learning to make and play Iron Age bone and tree flutes. Nature instruments are both universal to humanity and specific when tied into Norse mythology. Kari shares her Norwegian American root culture from 20,000 BCE (before the ice flows uncovered Scandinavia) to the Bronze Age when sheep and goats were introduced, to the Viking Era and even recent times.

    • 5:00 Dance Fun for Young and Old! Take a dance step forward by putting the beat in your feet and joy in your heart as you learn some traditional folk, circle and contra dances. A dance gathering that celebrates connections, community, and camaraderie. No experience is necessary and dances are taught with the beginner in mind (8 years old and older). Led by Lenore Siems.

    • 5:30 Hoop Dancing Like other native dances, hoop dance is not acrobatic, but restrained. Hoop dance, an individual dance, is a “show dance” in some tribes. Every dance is as individual as the person who choreographs it. Learn more in this narrated performance.

    • 6:00 Heather and Thistle Pipes and Drums Performance by Scottish bagpipers Ian Durkin and Rikki Given, along with drummer Wayne Alexander. Heather and Thistle Pipes and Drums is a non-profit educational pipe and drums band based out of Fargo, North Dakota. Since 1992, Heather and Thistle have been sharing their love of Celtic music while performing at parades and events throughout the Red River Valley and beyond. Members of the band have come and gone throughout the years, however, the band currently features nearly 20 pipers and a half dozen drummers.

    • 6:30 Belly Dancers Performance by two dancers from MinDak Belly Dance, an organization that teaches belly dance classes in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

  • Hands-On Art & Activities for All Ages

    • NYMRCC Art in Your Park Kick-Off – art basics for kids
    • Scribbletastic Fun-O-Matic Command Post by Wadena Artist Brad Wegscheid
    • Scherenschnitte – folk paper cutting with Cheryl Bannes

  • Indigenous Art & Storytelling brought to you by Niijii Radio

    • Bone bead chokers
    • Ojibwe language coloring sheets
    • Pony bead keychains
    • Corn Husk Dolls with storytelling

  • Cultural Booths & Demonstrations

    • East Otter Tail County History Museum: Genealogy tools & resources
    • Kateryna Bortsova NYMRCC visiting artist from Ukraine: “Self-propulsion” interactive mapping activity – more info below.
    • Sharon Marquardt Local artist offering Himmeli (Finnish straw art) demonstration
    • Finland in a Suitcase with Amy & Adam Tervola Hultberg
    • Finnish Culture & Finn Creek information by Shirley Quist
    • Holding Stones – Artist Santana Crillo – wire wrapping & jewelry demos & sales

  • Cultural Cuisine for Sale

More details will be added as activities, artists, businesses, and organizational partners are added. See below to register today, e-mail info@kulcher.org, or call us at 218-385-3339 to join us in celebrating cultures, community, and connections!

A special note about our Artist-in-Residence, Kateryna Bortsova

Kateryna Bortsova is our Artist-in-Residence here in New York Mills during the month of May. She is from Ukraine and will be sharing a unique activity with our community during Celebrating Cultures, titled “Self-propulsion.”

Kateryna Bortsova “Self-propulsion” Artist Statement

The concept of my project is directly related to the travel and self-realization of man in a globalized world. I have been working on this project since 2016 and every year it continues to develop and fill with new conceptual meanings. He was born as a response to events with a migratory crisis, and several years later, based on studies of different cultures of the world he got new philosophical value. I continue my research and with the inclusion of more and more countries, my project continues to develop.

The main concept of my project is based on the notion “Movement = Change”. This is an understanding of changes in the social environment, a person’s place in a modern city; stratification, and layering of various cultural, and social changes.

The peculiarity of this event is that each of the visitors can participate in the creation of future work from the project. You will see a map of the World on which, using special self-adhesive elements, each visitor can mark their country or the country they dream of going to or the country they have been to… This World map was on my personal exhibition in Seoul, South Korea and now traveling with me to collect more and more marks from people all around the World. After I will create a special artwork from this map that will give a new semantic development to my project.

Please note, in case of inclement weather, we plan to move the event indoors at the Cultural Center (24 N Main Ave); please check kulcher.org or follow the Cultural Center on social media for updates.

🙌 Cultural Partners Invited!

We’re actively seeking individuals and groups from all cultural backgrounds to help make this a truly cross-cultural event. If you have traditions, stories, art, music, or food to share, we want to hear from you!

All ideas are welcome—this is a celebration of cultures, creativity, and community. 

👉 To get involved, contact us at info@kulcher.org or 218-385-3339.

Examples of participation:

  • Interactive art activities (for kids & adults)

  • Artist or maker demos

  • Cultural food vendors or trucks

  • Storytelling or music

  • Performances, dance, or hands-on workshops

🎨 Artist & Maker Booths

Artists and makers are invited to set up a booth to sell handcrafted items.

  • Bring your own setup (table, chairs, tent, etc.)

  • Setup starts at 2:00 PM on May 21

  • Space is limited and pre-registration is required

  • Send us your details so we can help promote your work!

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Phone Number (required)

    What would you like to sell or demonstrate?

    How can we contact you?
    PhoneEmail

    Let’s celebrate the rich cultural tapestry of our region—together. 

    đź’¬ Questions? Email us at info@kulcher.org or call 218-385-3339.


    This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Cultural Expressions grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.Â