Not traditional enough - re-edit

A Reason to Celebrate: Ethni-City
(992 words)
By: Shannon Hollender


Note to elf: Scrap the whole thing for "content" and re-write with sectionalized theming and dumbed-down themes or you'll never get it past the editors...


It's not like going to the Opera, you don't sit there and quietly observe. Richmond festivals are about the celebration. And the celebration is about as labour intensive as it gets. The amont of involvement it takes to organize these things is staggering. ""We cook non-stop for a week! says so-n-so "and it's still not enough!" The experience of it all is indescribable. You walk into a wholly different world. There are people dancing to music unlike anything you've heard on the radio, the band is authentic, not some cover-band re-make. They play traditional songs n the tradition fashion and it leaves you with the same awe-inspiring feeling had









When Saysamon Rinthalukay, organizer of Richmond's Laotian Community, recalls first coming to the United States, he looks to the future; "There is opportunity for everybody in this country, my son does not realize how lucky he is." He said it was a struggle comming to the U.S. and every day is a reason to celebrate.

Sasamon can be found behind a table talking to patrons at the Annual Asian American Celebration teaching as many as he can about the way of life he came from in order to get here. The music in the background is light-hearted and fast-paced, primal and deep. You can hear the drums beat and the feet pound the ground in practiced repetition as the festival kicks off another beautiful, cultural, and moving display of traditional dance. This is what celebrating one's culture is about. Learning, dancing, food, this is about the pride so many feel to be American

Oktoberfest:
Music grabs the attention and inspires the joy of everyone young and old. And it seems the more traditional, the more of a hit it is going to be. People all over the region flock to such events like the Richmond Oktoberfest for the music and the good food. .

Folk Fest:
The National Folk Festival, will this October be celebrating the last of the three-years it designated for Richmond. Traditionally they showcases a variety of cultures and customs along with their music and the variety of experience to be had is unbelieveable. .

"I got a car and it was a big mistake. I had not thought about insurance, I didn't even have license" Saysamon recalls. For years he worked and biked and even sponsored other refugee and immigrant families, claiming it was important someone who knew the culture did this. You have to know to not put hotdog or hamburger in the fridge, "Laos like sticky rice and we're the only ones who do. It is more filling."

But even stocking his own fridge was a challenge without a car; "I was used to going and getting things from market and carrying back. The people [here] looked at us strange for carrying our groceries."

It is surprising that as diverse as Richmond is, cultural heritage is still a concept so very foreign. "I don't think people realize their heritage, they come to an event and get curious and start researching" said Gloria Cahen of the Irish American Society of Greater Richmond. "That's how lots of people get involved with any number of the events we have in Richmond."

And that involvement is why so many cultural organizations hold so many events year round here in Richmond. From the annual Oktoberfest, to the local organization of Arabs in Richmond celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan, for so many there's a reason to celebrate every day.

"I was lucky" says Saysamon, "to come to this country." He worked as a translator for Laotian refugees in the court system and said it hurt to see so many of his people, used to the kind of persecution he escaped, and to know they were being sent back to it for making mistakes here. Saysamon reasoned; "I help. It is my civic duty. My wife does not like it [...] but I tell her I make a promise, I not break it."

Throughout the years Saysamon has led associations and organizations dedicated to helping Laotians become good American citizens. The first one; Laotian Relief Association of Virginia (LRA), was successful in bringing together a support group for Laos in the area "...but too many people wanted to misuse it, to use the money, go back and liberate our country. I had to dissolve it."

In 1991 Saysamon gave everything the LRA had to a Buddhist Temple. "Fish, eggs, sticky rice, our fridge is filled with basics [...] we stay the same way, we are not used to [immediate gratification.] Where I come from a person needs something they go fetch it."

There is a drive-through during the week of the festival so nine-to-fivers can get an authentic Greek Lunch on the go. If food is the way to a man’s heart, then the annual Greek Festival, which draws crowds numbering in the thousands each year, has conquered the hearts of thousands.

The Greek pride themselves on the thousands of pounds of food cooked annually for the people who annually attend, obviously, food is also the way to draw in and win over a crowd. Serving Gyros, Souvlaki, Dolmades, Shrimp, wine, lemonada, Baklava and so on; every year the Greek Festival attracts more people to attend than had the previous year. All to celebrate Greek ways, Greek heritage, Greek food!

From The Annual Oktoberfest to the Asian American Society, the French Film Festival, to the Italian Street Festival, people come together to celebrate just that - coming together. No matter where you go at any of these events, you find yourself immersed in a culture and an experience that is truly unique and entirely enjoyable.

And what of Saysamon? You may find him sitting at a booth at just such a festival, teaching others about his culture and heritage, complaining about kids these days and smiling that smile of his. "I am lucky to come to this country." He says; and he would prefer no one ever forget it.~