Vicky Smith
News Writing Student
The Lawton-Fort Sill community held its 35th annual International Festival from Sept. 26-28 at Elmer Thomas Park.
With free admission, parking and a shuttle service, the festival featured over 70 foods, sales and display vendors, a children’s area, concert bands, folklore dances and many interactive activities.
Sponsored by the City of Lawton, National Endowment for the Arts, KSWO TV, KCCU and others, the festival averaged 36,000 people from all over the state in past attendances.
Friday’s events kicked off at 5:45 p.m. with the Parade of Nations and Naturalization Ceremony.
Sponsor Billie Whipp, the Arts and Humanities’ division administrator for the City of Lawton, said the Naturalization Ceremony is unique to the festival.
“We’ve had it for over 11 years,” Whipp said, “and Tommy Nicholas, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Office in Oklahoma City coordinates that for us, and Judge John Erwin presides over it.
“This year, we had 13 local residents become U.S. citizens in the opening ceremony, representing five different countries.”
That afternoon, people visited Cameron University’s new exhibit, the Army Special Operation Forces’ Simulation System, in which participants flew helicopters and rode parachutes.
By dusk, visitors were entertained by Brave Combo, a two-time Grammy award-winning band, and the Dirty River Boys, a classic folk band with hints of bluegrass and modern rock. People also stargazed through telescopes with professional 3-D artist and animator Hank Poppe.
Saturday morning, kids gathered at the children’s booth for games, including hula-hoops, giant bubbles, bouncy balls and a parachute toss. They also made cultural crafts – Chinese masks, African necklaces, U.S. mats, Amazonian rain sticks, Japanese carp kites and Tahitian headdresses.
Bands and dancers, including Island Paradise, Lawton Harmony Chorus, Mexican Folklore Dancers, Kickers of Lawton and Kealii’s Polynesian Spectacular performed on the North and South stages of the park.
People toured the various vendors – Henna Tattoo and Jewelry, Get the Word Out, Aglowlamps and Southwest Area Geocachers of Oklahoma.
Sponsor Bobbi Whitson, Chair of the International Festival, said some people came to the festival just for the food. Vendors sold everything from gyros and Italian ice to jumbo corn dogs and Cajun cuisine. Elissa Broadway, a junior at Cameron University with a major in elementary education, liked the funnel cakes best.
“I know it’s not international,” Broadway said, “but I can’t get past it.”
Broadway volunteered for the festival the past three years, and this year she handed out pamphlets and sold items at the information booth.
Cheatwood said volunteers from high schools, colleges and other walks of life played important roles in the entertainment of the festival.
“I think the festival allows opportunity and access for our volunteer performers that they might not otherwise have to grow into a profession,” Cheatwood said.
“I have seen performers at elementary and junior high school ages go on to perform at other state festivals as well as move on to Nashville.”
Whipp said she enjoyed watching interactions among families, friends, volunteers and performers. Whipp was wowed by the fact and an event of this size put together by so many different entities is a success and makes people happy.
She said that although the festival has grown over the years, with this year’s having more vendors than in the past, the committees will still review surveys for feedback to plan even more successful festivals in the future.
Whipp said the International festival is ultimately an opportunity for people, both citizens and International Cameron students, to experience diversity at a single location.
Cheatwood said visitors travel from out-of-town and stay the weekend.
“They often note that it changed the way they saw Lawton in a good way and hope to come back for another visit,” Cheatwood said.