Dear Friends,

Our 37th World Festival has come to an end, and it was one for the record books. It was extremely well received by the visitors, and I have heard nothing but glowing remarks.

I want to make sure you all know, that your efforts are greatly appreciated, not just by the Rochester International Association, but by the community at large. The RIA is a small organization with great aspirations. Everybody volunteers and we all have to take out time from our work and family life to make the World Festival happen. It takes us almost a whole year to get it all organized. That’s why we know how it feels that you do the same to represent your culture and background, We especially appreciate the newcomers to the World Festival! We know it is not easy to do it for the first time and hope you got the “bug” of the brotherhood we enjoy experiencing every year. Some have been participating for decades and we thank you for your sustained enthusiasm.

There is no other festival like this in Rochester, where the richness of the many different cultures and countries, which are represented in our City, are shown in all its diversity. As far as I know, there may not be another festival in the City that has been in existence as long as the World Festival.

We thank you for being part of the World Festival, putting your best foot forward, and for being willing to go out there and be part of something great! This is the reason why the festival has lasted for 37 years.

A special thank you also to our many volunteers: Upward Bound, JM Honors Students, Mayo HS International Club, and many individuals contributed to ease the work load and make it easier for everybody. You are an essential part of the festival.

We hope to see you back next year, when we celebrate the World Festival for the 38th time! It is a tradition we will continue with everyone’s support as long as possible. Fuad Mansour, a Palestinian, who worked at Mayo for many years, had this vision of everybody coming together and appreciating each other’s contributions, when he founded the World Festival in 1976. It takes all of us to keep this vision alive.

We also invite you to be part of the organizing committee for next year, or be a member of the RIA board of directors. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail
herta.matteson@ria-minnesota.org and I will make sure you are invited or nominated. We truly appreciate input from new members. Also send me an e-mail, if you have ideas on how to make it better, where we succeeded or where we failed. If at all doable, we will incorporate your input in next year’s festival.

Please extend our gratitude to your whole group. See you in 2013!

Herta Matteson
President,
Rochester International Association