LETTER: Event honors many cultures

Hundreds of international university students, faculty members and community residents from more than 60 countries call the Upper Peninsula home. They enrich this small, remote region out of all proportion to their numbers.

So each year, Michigan Technological University, Finlandia University and local businesses join hands to celebrate this multicultural spirit at the Parade of Nations.

This year, the Parade of Nations runs Saturday, Sept. 22. Led by parade marshals Nancy Byers Sprague and Dianne Sprague, the parade begins at 11 a.m. on Quincy Street in downtown Hancock and features floats, Michigan Tech’s popular Pep Band and marching groups carrying the flags of countries all over the globe.

The parade will cross the lift bridge and move east on Shelden Avenue through downtown Houghton, winding up at the Dee Stadium on the waterfront. A multicultural festival featuring international food and entertainment runs noon to 4 p.m. at the Dee. Admission is free.

Last year, more than 3,000 visitors watched the parade and went to the Dee to sample dishes from China, India, Thailand, Italy, Mexico, China, Japan, the Middle East, and of course, Finland, much of it prepared and sold by international students,

Entertainers on the program include the Copper Country Cloggers, the Michigan Tech Dance Team, the Medievalist Club and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. Mark Wilcox will emcee the show. Eagle Radio provides the sound system.

“We invite everyone to wear their native or ancestral costumes to the Parade of Nations, whether they plan to march or watch,” said Darnishia Slade, chair of the planning committee for the event.

The Parade of Nations is still seeking sponsors and participants. Interested organizations, businesses and individuals should contact Slade at dslade@mtu.edu or go to the Parade of Nations website.

Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences.

Bob Wenc,

Houghton, Mich.

Tags: opinion, letter, education