Gypsy (Roma) Festival April 9 in Forest Park
By Stephanie Covington
For the St. Louis American
For the first time, a festival celebrating Gypsy (Roma) culture will be taking place in St. Louis. The St. Louis Gypsy (Roma) Music Festival will be held from 1 until 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 9 at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park.
The festival will include authentic music by international and local musicians, with Gypsy Fire headlining the event. Local Roma and Bosnian children of all ages will perform traditional dances. Authentic, traditional Eastern European foods will be available.
The event, sponsored by Gitana Productions, is being planned in collaboration with Bosnian and Macedonian Roma living in St. Louis, which are nearly 2,500 individuals strong
Cecilia Nadal of Gitana Productions said the Gypsy (Roma) culture is joyous, colorful and flamboyant. Gypsies, she said, were considered the “black people of Europe” and were often persecuted. Most people, Nadal said, are unaware that Gypsies were the second-largest group exterminated by Nazis during the Holocaust.
Nadal, producer of what she calls a “four-hour mini festival,” said the event has been hard to market to the St. Louis community. Nadal said the event has been in the planning stages for over six months, but she hopes the result will help demystify what the Gypsy (Roma) people are about.
To accompany the festival, Gitana Productions and Washington University are offering a free symposium on Gypsy culture Wednesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. The symposium will begin with a free authentic Bosnian dinner. Dr. Ian Hancock, an expert on Romani culture and a Romani himself, will address issues and stereotypes surrounding Gypsy people.
Gitana also has developed a relationship with the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and the St. Louis City Public Schools ESOL Program, which will provide educational programs about Romani culture to their students. Students and parents at these organizations will participate in the Gypsy Festival, and special outreach will be made to Romani youth who attend schools in the St. Louis City Public School District.
To further celebrate the history of Gypsy (Roma) culture, the St. Louis Public Library has been working with Gitana Productions to offer displays and books at the Carpenter Branch library at 3309 South Grand Blvd. in March and April.
Tickets for the festival are $10 per person. Children under 12 are free. For tickets, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.metrotix.com. More information on these events and other Gitana events can be found at www.gitana-ink.org. For more information, call Gitana at (314) 721-6556 or visit www.gitana-inc.com.
