Before you head over to the Mason Square branch library for its second annual celebration tomorrow afternoon, consider dropping in at American International College, starting around noon, for a free, public international festival that sounds enticing indeed. From today’s news briefs blog in the Republican:
International festival tomorrow at AIC
SPRINGFIELD – Students and staff at American International College will host an international festival tomorrow with music, dance and food from noon to 4:30 pm in the Schwartz Campus Center Auditorium.The festival, organized by the AIC International Club, will feature Isshin Taiko drummers, bagpipers, belly dancers, a ju jitzu demonstration, a presentation by the Cathedral High School drama club, and performances by the dance teams of Bay Path College and AIC.
The festival is free and open to the public.
AIC’s Web site has an archived announcement about the Isshin Taiko (pictured, top) drummers’ visit there last fall. The drummers, it says, are all from Western Massachusetts. From that page:
The group’s spirited interactive performances combine the thunderous sounds of the ancient art of Taiko, the melodies of the fue (Japanese bamboo flute), and the accents of other percussion instruments through synchronized rhythm, movement and voice.
The group’s name comes from Isshin, which means "one heart" or "wholehearted" and reflects the members’ passion for this community-based art form; and Taiko, which means big drums.
