Central Valley Arts and Culture Club to host first ever festival on Saturday
The Central Valley Arts and Culture Club, a nonprofit that aims to promote diverse cultures from around the world, will hold its inaugural festival at Hale Park from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday.
The club offers youth programs focused on education, arts, music and dance.
According to club founder Sandra Vargas, club members have been working to learn several dance routines from various cultures that they will be performing on Saturday. The festival will feature dance routines from Africa, Germany, India, Mexico and Hawaii, as well Native American cultures.
The event will also include several vendors. So far, Vargas has been able to secure Mexican and Puerto Rican food vendors, and is looking to secure several others.
“It’s going to be our one-year anniversary, and the kids loved the idea of doing a festival so people can know how hard they’ve been working,” Vargas said.
Vargas decided to start the group after volunteering with former Lodi neighborhood services director Joseph Wood and learning that there was a need for a club to children about different experiences around the globe and encourage them to explore those differences and similarities.
With three children of her own who are of mixed heritage, it was important to Vargas that they felt connected and were able to understand other cultures.
The club was able to receive a small grant from the Lodi Chamber of Commerce through the ABCD-Love Your Block program, which allows residents to plan an event or project for their neighborhoods.
“What we were trying to do was find people who said, ‘I want to make my part of Lodi better. I want to do something for people in the Heritage District. I want to do something for my block or my neighborhood or my neighbors,’” said chamber president and CEO Pat Patrick, explaining why the club was chosen for the grant.
Vargas is grateful the club was chosen for the grant because they were able to purchase a deejay sound system. Now, the children are able to perform with louder music.
Club members have performed at several Lodi events including the Peace Walk, the Downtown Lodi Farmers Market, the Lodi Grape Festival and the Street Faire. They’ve also participated in community service projects such as Arbor Day.
The club has grown to about 15 teens and children since it was started a year ago, and Vargas is always looking for more members.
The club is open to youths of all ages, and Vargas said those looking to join should just show up at their next meeting ready to learn. The club meets from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 701 S. Pleasant Ave.
“What the kids do once they arrive, is they’ll have a snack or little bit of lunch, and then from 3 to 4 p.m. it’s tutoring time, and there are teaches there to help them with their homework. Then from 4 to 5 p.m., that’s when our dance practice starts,” Vargas said.
The club reaches out to people of varying backgrounds and asks them to volunteer to teach the children about their culture. If they are unable to find a volunteer from a particular culture, they try to learn what they can from the internet.
In addition to learning about other cultures, the club helps the children become well-rounded individuals, Vargas said.
“Some of the kids were really shy, and now that they’re part of it, they just love coming,” Vargas said. “Some of the kids walk almost three miles from school just to be part of the club.”
The club offers something to interest everyone, she said.
The children in the club do their own hair and makeup and create their own costumes for their performances. They also provide their own photography and artwork.
Everything is free of charge to the club members, with funds for materials generously donated by people in the community.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church is providing food and tutoring services for the children, as well as the venue for club meetings.
Vargas is excited about the club’s first festival, and hopes the community will come out and join them.