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WEST WINDSOR: Festival fetes many cultures

By Charley Falkenburg, Special Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — Patience, not brawn, is the key to blacksmithing, explained Daniel Lapidow, of Lawrenceville.
   Clad in dusty overalls and a cap, the 20-year-old sat behind an array of blackened metal tools that lay upon a bed of coals. Next to his makeshift shop was a sign — Hebrew Hammer Blacksmithing — which symbolized both Mr. Lapidow’s Jewish heritage and his hobby of more than 10 years.
   ”It’s not about being strong, it’s about being patient, but once you know the fundamentals the sky is the limit and you can express yourself any way you want,” said Mr. Lapidow, who described himself as a “senior apprentice.”
   His specialty?
   ”Fireplace sets,” he said with no hesitation. “It involves cutting, bending, twisting and I include dragons in the design — it’s a fun thing to make.”
   Mr. Lapidow’s roots and craft made up just a slice of the many different cultures and customs featured at the second annual Cultural Festival at Mercer County Park. Folks from different walks of life gathered on Saturday afternoon to learn about the various ethnicities and cultures that are infused in the county’s 13 municipalities.
   The festival was created last year to celebrate the county’s melting pot of citizens, thanks to County Executive Brian Hughes and the Board of Chosen Freeholders. This year, residents got the opportunity to enjoy traditional dance and musical performances, eat international foods and visit vendors representing different cultures such as Native American, Mexican, Tanzanian, Guatemalan and gypsy.
   Many attendees wandered over to Amit Gupta’s stand, which featured authentic handmade Indian handicrafts, tapestries and clothing. Several ladies perused the brightly colored Indian shirts called “kurtis,” which is a popular item in India. Mr. Gupta, who owns a company called Natural Choice, came from New York to be a part of the festival.
   ”We like to meet different people from different cultures and have people get to know more about Indians at the same time,” said Mr. Gupta.
   Nearby, Gail Trautz, of Hamilton, was giving a tutorial on fiber art and fell making — an art that requires a sheep, shears, dye, soap, water and a lot of “gentle coaxing” of the fibers. One of her handmade creations she showcased was a model of a Mongolian Ger, which is a portable house made out of wool.
   Throughout the day, people took part in Egyptian icon painting, Chinese brush painting, German paper cutting, West African sculpting and Guatemalan weaving. They also watched a variety of dance performances that included Haitian, Greek, African, Turkish, Hungarian folk and Egyptian belly dancing.
   For Paula Rossi, the director of the ESL program at the YWCA, the festival was instrumental in bringing everyone together, if just for a couple of hours that day.
   ”Our diversity is impacting our community and it’s important to inform ourselves of the different cultures,” said Ms. Rossi, whose students hail from more than 40 different countries and speak more than 27 different languages. “Knowledge creates better understanding.”
   Ms. Rossi added she was really enjoying the live music selection, particularly the traditional American folk songs from Spook Handy, who was also the event’s emcee.
   The lineup also featured traditional Italian music from the Philadelphia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble, Irish songs from the NogBhoys, Venezuelan gaita from Sabrosongo with Arturo Romay, Chinese choral from the Chin Yun Chorus, Puerto Rican songs from Son 7 and traditional Jewish, Romanian and gypsy tunes from the Odessa Klezmer Band.
   As music drifted through the park, kids had their faces painted, made mosaic necklaces and Mardi Gras masks and got Henna tattoos. Over at the Howell Living History Farm tent, 7-year-old Dinah Fisher tried her hand at making a pre-1900s wooden barn peg. Dinah and her mother, Gilma Fisher, came from East Windsor to go skating — until the festival caught their eye.
   Hong Kong native Christina Churk and her mother live right across the street from the park and thought they would come check it out.
   ”We just got here and figured we would get a bite to eat first,” said Ms. Churk, munching on a piece of funnel cake.
   All around Ms. Churk, people sampled a variety of traditional ethnic foods such as Italian vodka rigatoni, Polish kielbasa, Puerto Rican Spanish rice and classic American hotdogs and hamburgers. There was a particularly long line at the Caribbean stand, which offered jerk chicken and ox tails.
   East Windsor resident Vincent Ferguson had just finished some Italian sausage, while he was waiting for his wife, Patricia to join him. It was his first time at the festival and he said he was having good time so far.
   ”They have a nice variety, a nice mix here,” said Mr. Ferguson, holding a pint of Bud Light from the beer garden. “When it comes down to it, diversity is big here and it’s important to get to know each other. This is education for people to realize what others do.”