After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Overture Center the Arts’ daylong celebration of worldwide culture returns to downtown Madison on Saturday, March 19, with an additional virtual element this year.
Artists representing 31 nations and cultures will perform at the 41st annual festival.
Flamenco dancer Tania Tandias has been performing at the festival since the late 1990s.
“I think it’s great for people to see the diversity of all the inhabitants of Madison. Sometimes you’re not able to explore those on your own. You might not have friendships or people in the workplace from these different countries. So this is a way that everybody can come together and really celebrate the diversity that we have. It’s actually, for a city of this size, it’s an incredible amount of diversity here,” said Tandias, founder of the school and company Tania Tandias Flamenco and Spanish Dance. “And especially in this time, when there’s a lot of divisiveness, I think it’s wonderful to have events like this … I think it really brings people together, which is great in a time like this too, when we’ve had COVID and people are feeling isolated and anxious.”
The 2020 festival took place just before the pandemic set in, and last year’s event was virtual, with recorded performances available online. That element will stay as an additional way to take in performances, said organizer Karra Beach, which will allow more schools and families to take part.
“That’s something that we probably would continue from here on out because schools have really been able to engage with it,” Beach said. “With the festival being on a Saturday, we’re never able to get school groups in. And the performers often can’t do a school day. So it’s hard to figure that out and coordinate it. But this virtual option has been a really great discovery that we never would’ve thought of, had COVID not happened.”
Beach said prerecorded virtual performances will be available at the event’s website, and live performances will be streamed on the center’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Overture Center will still practice caution, requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test, as well as face coverings. Additionally, two of the venues normally used for the festival will remain empty in order to spread out the performances and avoid people clustering in hallways.
The schedule will be published soon. The full list of performers and vendors is below.
| PERFORMERS | CULTURE |
| Atimevu | Ghana |
| Black Star Drum Line w/Dynamic Badgerettes | African American Culture |
| Boliviamanta | Bolivia |
| Breckenridge School of Highland Dance | Scotland |
| Charanga Agozá | Latinx/Cuba |
| Cris Plata Trio | Mexican/American with European influences |
| DanzTrad | Mexico/Mexican |
| Beni Daiko | Japan |
| Last Gaspe (VIRTUAL) | Ireland/Canada/New England |
| Leslie Damaso with Mr. Chair (VIRTUAL) | Filipino American |
| Limanya Drum & Dance Ensemble | Guinea, West Africa |
| LuLu Quintet | French and Romany |
| Mad Craig Irish Dance | Ireland |
| Madison Chinese Culture Association | Chinese |
| Madison Japanes Taiko gorup Beni Daiko | Japan |
| Madison Männerchor | German |
| Madison Pipes and Drums | Scottish |
| Mai Zong Vue and Mason Her | Hmong music |
| Meenakshi Ganesan and the Kalaanjali Dance Company | Classical Indian Dance |
| Mesoghios Dance Troupe | Greek |
| Raízes do Brasil Capoeira Madison (VIRTUAL) | Afro-Brazilian |
| Sadira Middle Eastern dance | Middle East/Egypt |
| Sergio | Cuba |
| Tania Tandias Flamenco & Spanish Dance | Spain |
| The Handphibians | Afro-Brazilian |
| The Taiwan Puppet Troupe | Taiwanese |
| Tri Bratovchedki | Balkan/Eastern European |
| UW Russian Folk Orchestra | Russia & Eastern Europe |
| Yid Vicious | Yiddish |
| Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association | Chinese |
| Žaibas Lithuanian Dancers | Lithuanian |
| Wisconsin Dells Singers & Dance Troupe | Native American |
| Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. | Lithuania |
| Inti Fair Trade | Ecuadorian |
| INTERNATIONAL MARKT | CULTURE |
| Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of WI – Madison | various developing countries |
| Knitting for Peace | Syria and Iraq |
| Madison-Rafah Sister City Project | Palestinian |
| Palestine Partners | Palestine |
| Hope Institute of Uganda | Ugandan |
| Hope Institute of Uganda Dba Jinja Fair Trade Gift Shop | Uganda |
| Madison Arcatao Sister City Project | El Salvador |
| Otavalo | Ecuador |
| Madison-Mantova Sister Cities | Italy |
| Madame Chu Delicacies | Southeast Asian – Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia |
| Madison Area Chinese Community Organization | Chinese |
| AKARIM AFRICAN ENTERPRISE | GHANAIAN |
| INTERNATIONAL CAFÉ | CULTURE |
| Toast | Israeli |
| Italian Workmen’s Club | Italian |
| Spice Yatra | Indian |
| Rolling Pin Bake Shop | Russian |
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Promenade Hall, Level II
10 AM – 4:30 PM| Mark your cultural heritage and current home on the magnetic maps.
- Promenade Lounge, Level II
11:30 AM – 5 PM | Explore new cultures with student ambassadors from UW-Madison International Reach.
