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thePeorian.com
The Present
Other sizable cultures include
Germans and Irish who, along
with the Lebanese, have long
formed the largest portion of the
area’s population.
“
Early in Peoria’s history immi-
grants came for the land. Today,
they come for the other end of
the economic spectrum, the brain
power. That is why we enjoy
such diversity here,” Weck said.
“
I think we’ve always had
pretty broad diversity here. There
are probably 11,000 people of
Lebanese descent alone and 6,000
of them can trace their heritage
to that tiny village of Itoo. We
try and partner with as many of
these groups as we can when we
do our programming because we
want to learn what we can from
them, as well,” she said.
That’s why, she added, that
it’s important Peorians attend the
different festivals the various en-
thnicities host each year, such as
the India Fest scheduled for Aug.
18
on Peoria’s riverfront, hosted
by Vuppuluri’s organization, the
Indo-American Society.
Another important event,
which will be celebrating its
ninth year on Sept. 14 at the Peo-
ria Civic Center, is World Fest.
That event brings together all the
different cultures that exist in
the region and they display their
wares, their attire, their dances
and songs.
“
It really is a way for people
to learn about other cultures
and we involve as many of the
ethnic groups that we can so it
is authentic,” said Robin Barnes,
director of sales at the Civic Cen-
ter. World Fest is a one-day event
that takes up the entire exhibit
hall and it is free to attend.
World Fest started when the
Civic Center Authority formed a
cultural diversity committee to
reach out to the different groups
in the community. “Cultural
diversity is important and it is a
valuable education tool for the
community,” Barnes said.
