International entertainment, food returns to Children's Museum of Oak Ridge Feb. 24

The Oak Ridger
·2 min read

Flamenco, Irish, and Tongan dancers will be among the entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts and foods from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home. The festival will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Children’s Museum, 461 West Outer Drive.

Hands-on activities are a feature of the International Festival, held each year at the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. The 2024 International Festival is this Saturday.
Hands-on activities are a feature of the International Festival, held each year at the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. The 2024 International Festival is this Saturday.

Entertainers include the Tennessee Irish Dancers; Pasión Flamenca performing Flamenco dance; Katrien Sevrin performing belly dance; Wolfgramm Farms Tonga and Taro dance group; and the Asian Cultural Center’s Japanese Shamisen. The event will be emceed by Raya Quttaineh and Fernando Garcia-Franceschini of WBIR, according to a museum news release.

Activities during the day include:

  • Crafts for children to make and take home, including a giraffe headband, paper wonton craft, and henna hand decorating.

  • Postage stamps from many countries available for collecting in the Craft & Science Room, hosted by the Knoxville Philatelic Society.

  • Opportunities to learn Morse code and how to communicate with other countries through amateur radio, hosted by the Oak Ridge Amateur Radio Club in the Discovery Lab.

  • Visits to the model train layouts of the Knoxville Area Model Railroaders in the World of Trains exhibit.

International food vendors

Food vendors will have dishes from many countries available to purchase, the release stated. They include Tarik’s North African serving za’atar chicken, beef kofta, and almond baklava; Empanadas Bolivianas, with empanadas de queso, empanadas de cornmeal, salteñas, and tres leches cake; Mucho Gusto 4 U, with Cuban sandwiches and flan; Mia Riffert offering Indonesian food; Knox Asian Festival with onigiri, Japanese curry rice, and mochi; Handmade Toffee & Treats; Tennessee Irish Dancers, offering Irish whiskey cake; Hungary Czech, with kürtőskalács; and Sons of Norway, with lefse.

Hola Hora Latina, an organization promoting unity by creating bridges between the Hispanic/LatinX communities and the community at large through art, culture, education and leadership, will host a booth. The Children’s Museum will have international dolls and other items for sale.

The festival will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at a discount price online.
The festival will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at a discount price online.

Discounts, tickets and more information

The International Festival is supported by the Tennessee Arts Commission. Online tickets are available at a discounted price of $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, and $6 for children ages 3-17, with a small surcharge, at this site: bit.ly/intfestcmor.

Admission to the International Festival at the door is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $10 for children 3-17. Children 2 and under are free. Children’s Museum members have free admission with proof of membership at the door.

For more information, call the Children’s Museum at (865) 482-1074, or see the Children’s Museum web site at http://childrensmuseumofoakridge.org.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: International entertainment returns to Children's Museum of Oak Ridge