Inaugural Silk Road Unity Festival aims to educate and celebrate diversity

By Jessica Peralta

April 26, 2018 3:30 PM PT

Maria Khani is on an educational mission to share the culture and history of her native country of Syria beyond the politics.

“Through art, history and culture, we have found a way to not only introduce people to Syria’s rich roots, but also establish for them an opportunity to develop a much deeper connection to the country and its people,” said Khani, who is co-founder of Orange County-based A Country Called Syria.

“We do so through gallery and exhibitions, as well as various events such as film screenings, live art shows, and more recently a cultural open mic night.”

It is a similar mission that inspired the creation of the Silk Road Unity Festival, a free community event taking place Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Brookhurst Community Center and Park in Anaheim.

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton is spearheading the event.

“I think with many cultural festivals, including the other ones we do at the Muck, they are often aimed at a specific group,” said Farrell Hirsch, CEO of the Muckenthaler. “We give them something familiar and comfortable, but the Silk Road Festival is different. Instead of saying, ‘Here’s what is different and unique about a specific group,’ we’re aiming to show people everyone else’s culture. We want you to see how your neighbor’s ways are beautiful and if their foods or language differ on the surface, there’s also a similarity.”

The festival’s name is a reference to the Silk Road, an ancient trade route that stretched halfway across the Earth, connecting the East and West in trade of items such as silk.

“Our aim is to shine a light on the cultures, nations, faiths along that ancient trade route,” Hirsch said. “And different peoples will be represented in different ways, in different parts of the festival. You have to remember, the Silk Road stretched halfway across the earth for most of civilization. There’s a virtually infinite amount of material from which to pull.”

At the festival, guests can expect a stage with several performances scheduled, a lecture and panel discussion room. There also will be an area where guests can learn about traditional crafts along the Silk Road route.

There will be a vendor bazaar, food court, a room of historical artifacts and activities for children. A Country Called Syria will be showing artifacts from its collection, including paintings, figurines, folkloric attire and books on Syrian history and art.

“This will give a chance for somebody to taste all the different flavors and hear all the different music,” said Mike Penn, president of the Orange County Interfaith Network, one of the event’s planning partners. “The point being, giving people the opportunity to learn and taste and see and experience something different.”

The event aligns well with the mission of the network , according to Penn, which includes creating learning opportunities about a variety of faiths.

“It’s an opportunity to come out and really experience the diversity that we have here in Orange County,” he said of the festival.

Fareed Farukhi, founder and chairman of Universal Heritage and Research Center in Orange, also an event partner, said the festival is in line with his group’s mission to foster cross-cultural engagement, diversity and inclusion through arts, music, culture and history.

“I think we live in a very troubled world that is dividing us on many issues,” Farukhi said, adding that an event like this gives people the opportunity to get to know each other, and their respective backgrounds and cultures, better. “This brings everyone together at one point.”