Festival Takes Steps to Feature Diversity

Stefanie Holzman, clad in a hand-embroidered wool Norwegian dance costume, spent Sunday morning crisply turning and gliding across a stage at the Cultural Diversity Fair in Huntington Beach. Between dances, she explained the moves the ensemble was performing to a crowd of families sitting on a grassy knoll in Huntington Central Park.

Holzman, who took up Scandinavian dancing 18 years ago, said the city’s Human Relations Task Force festival was the perfect opportunity to showcase the Scandia Dance Ensemble’s skills--and Surf City’s diversity.

“People generally think Huntington Beach is white. It’s not,” she said. “It’s lovely to see all the people show pride in their cultures.”

Nearby, Filipino dancers in gauzy white blouses and long, flowing pink and purple skirts twirled across a second stage. Armenian, Vietnamese and Hawaiian food stalls tempted visitors. Other booths provided information about hate crimes in Orange County, proposed legislation and world religions.

Cynthia Doe of the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council stood behind a colorful display of the various faiths. In addition to Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the panels from the council’s 2001 calendar explained Sikhism, Buddhism, Hinduism and other beliefs.

“People are amazed at how many different religions there are in the world,” Doe said. “We don’t try to proselytize. We look at the areas of difference, as well as the similarities.”

Cut away the different rituals and beliefs, and in the end, “all religions are about the heart,” she said.

The task force began planning the event several months ago, said City Councilwoman Shirley S. Dettloff.

“After the events of Sept. 11, events like this are so important to unite the community,” she said. “There are so many diverse groups in Huntington Beach, and they’ve come together and are united as Americans.”

Plus, there was great food. By noon, Dettloff had sampled Armenian garbanzo bean dip with pita bread, stuffed grape leaves, Vietnamese egg rolls and meat on a skewer. “I’ve eaten my way through the morning,” she said. Baklava was next on the list.

But the main attraction was the dancing.

The Riverside Ballet Co., which showcased Russian and Ukrainian dancers of all ages, was a crowd favorite. “I’ve never seen guys dance like that,” said Mai Dang, a senior at Ocean View High School, between bites of eggroll and beef kabob.