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Story & photos by SPC Charles Ames - Posted Sep, 1999
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Free food... free entertainment... a beautiful Washington afternoon… what could be better? Camp Murray celebrated its 6th Multicultural Fair in mid-July.
Traditionally the Fair is also held during a drill weekend. This year it was concurrent with 'Family Day', the individual unit’s family appreciation and community familiarization forum.
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We all came from somewhere... we like to think that our annual Multi-Cultural Fair shows where we’re going. Against the backdrop of a military lifestyle where sameness and regimentation tends to set the pace, the Fair marches to a different drummer highlighting and celebrating the diversity that our region is known for. Open to Guardmembers, families and to the community, each year's Fair seems to have a common goal - to top the Fair of the year preceding! This year was no exception.
This year the Chamarro Golf Club offered up a whole roast pig! All agreed this was the best Fair meal yet.
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Past Fairs have seen Native American dancers, urban gumboot dancers, Polynesian dancers, a Chinese dancer, craft sales, exotic food, guest speakers and music from around the world.
"The theme of this year’s Fair was 'Our Cultural Families' ", relates MAJ Anna Thacker, Equal Opportunity Officer for the Washington Army National Guard and Co-Chairperson for the Multicultural Fair Committee. She has had a sizable role in the last three Fairs. "Our goal is to make it fun and to get as much participation as we can, to enhance the awareness and appreciation of other cultures that are within the Guard, and to share with the community outside of the Guard what the Guard is."
Prior speakers have included the first female Federal Marshal, Rosa Maria Melendez, and the former Commanding General of First Corps and Ft Lewis and current Mayor of Lakewood, Lt. Gen. William Harrison, as well as other community leaders. This year’s featured speaker was Major General Barlow, the recently retired Adjutant General of the Washington National Guard.
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This year’s highlights included a report of opportunities with the Linguists aboard Camp Murray in Company B, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion. Then the show began in earnest.
Then the stage was turned over to the perennial Fair favorites, the bagpipers of the Olympia Highlanders. Among the band, our own Drill Sergeant Robert MacPherson. The Highlanders entertained the assembled crowd with a number of favorites. The strangely martial sound of the pipes echoed about the hall delighting the crowd. A standing ovation graced the pipers as they played off the stage.
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Next, children swarmed the stage as "PAYO" the Philippine-American Youth Organization began their stunning and colorful performance. "PAYO" performed several exuberant dances, some of which seemed to present great peril to them if not carried out precisely - the ladies nimbly negotiating the brightly painted whirling bamboo canes deftly wielded by the young men of the group.
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A small group of festively dressed children had waited patiently all day to perform. Their time had come, and so had "Guelaguetza" Children of Mexico-Hispanic Dancers. One of their final dances included a 5-year old prodigy that insisted on performing a dance she had been practicing. Her solo riveted the audience, and they applauded warmly in gratitude.
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Of course you have to close with a showstopper, and the Fair committee unveiled the finale...
Drums sounded and entered from different doors symbolizing a festival where tribes join together. The African drum and dance troupe "Adefua" set up an irresistible rhythm that stirred the feet of those in the audience. When they requested volunteers from the audience, little resistance was given, creating a 'mini-UN' numbering two-dozen artists using percussion cowbells, castanets, drums and other instruments.
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Perhaps the greatest benefit of the Fair came about a few years ago when the National Guard MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) council stepped in to offer to pay these local performers. This meant that they would be able to purchase new instruments and costumes. Since then the authenticity and quality of the entertainment these bands provide has reached new heights.
The committee hopes to make the celebration better each year. More input may be taken of Family Day participants. Future fairs could have static displays, games, event participation and more discussion of dress, food, custom, dancing, families and everyday life in other countries. Another possibility being considered is food service throughout the event, rather than at a specific time.
Although she probably doesn't see herself as such, we all know MAJ Anna Thacker as the irresistible force behind many National Guard events. As with all good things the Multi-Cultural Fair is the culmination of the efforts of many hard working folks behind the scenes. MAJ Thacker recites a long roster of names that provided help:
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Donna Pratt, Special Emphasis Programs Manager and Multicultural Fair Co-Chairperson
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CSM Mo Sylvestre, State Equal Employment Manager
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1SG John Meyer and Company B, 341st MI
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1SG Glen Neal and Headquarters, STARC
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The Guardsmen of the 111th ASOC, Washington Air National Guard
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The Guardsmen of the 951st PSD, Washington Army National Guard
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Connie Marler, Program Manager, Federally Employed Women
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Judy Christopherson, Native-American Special Emphasis Group Program Manager
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Betty Eissfeld, African-American Special Emphasis Group Program Manager
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Rose Pangelinan, Pacific-Asian Islanders Special Emphasis Group Program Manager
(The Hispanic Emphasis position is not currently filled... if you're interested!)
MAJ Thacker sums up the hope and mission of the Multicultural Fairs when she concludes, "We all come from a specific culture. We bring that together in the Guard. General Barlow alluded to this… our diversity makes us as powerful as we are."
If you wish to be notified of future Multicultural Fairs, or would like to find out how you can play a role in this great event, contact Donna Pratt, Special Emphasis Programs Manager and Multicultural Fair Co-Chairperson, (253) 512-8319.
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