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 In 1935 the U.S. Congress by proclamation declared the
1st Sunday in August as International Friendship Day .
In 1997 the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the official Ambassador of Friendship. Now, imagine I.F.F the International Friendship Festival.
The long term goal of this festival is to bring tourists from around the world to Beacon to celebrate the diversity of the Hudson Valley and show the growth and hospitality of Beacon. We are a growing city filled with culture and art from many different ethnicity's. We can have fun and educate our children on the similarities and differences of other peoples.
In my vision for this festival I see international and ethnic foods and crafts vendors lining the street. A parade of nations with flags and floats. A staging area for music and dance from different countries and the streets filled with tourists shopping and dining in Beacon and the surrounding villages.
August is vacation time in the U.S. and most of the world. As tourists flood NYC it is a perfect time to pull them upstate and show them that Beacon is a beacon for tourism. As each year passes and the festival grows my hope is to to see it evolve into a weekend event that tourists will plan their vacations around.
To start the festival this year I am seeking food and craft vendors to represent different ethnicity's, I am also looking for musicians and dancers for ethnic performances.
We here in Beacon do many events. Most of them are for the local Hudson Valley citizens and a few stray Dia visitors. We need to get a larger number of tourists in our city who are willing to spend money. Most of the events are participatory and there fore do not generate lots of money. As wonderful as these events are for promoting Beacon to the neighboring communities, I want to shine a spotlight on Beacon that brings people in from all over the world, a beacon you might say.
Lets make Beacon a beacon of friendship for the world.
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