CityView Magazine

52 | September/October • 2014 F ayetteville may be the All-America City, but make no mistake, it's home to many different cultures that span our planet Earth. Being home to Fort Bragg and also having a great, central location on the East Coast makes our city become a destina- tion and home for many. Because of this, having an international festival celebrating these coun- tries and cultures is a must. e International Folk Festival is now in its 36th year. e Fayetteville Downtown Partnership Inc. was the prior spon- sor until disbandment. ereaer, the festival was le in limbo, "un- til e Arts Council stepped up to save it," expressed Dr. Monte Hill, who represents the is- land nation of the Philippines with his family. ey assumed sponsorship in September of 1999. And today, the IFF is un- doubtedly e Arts Council's main event of the year. e Arts Council demon- strates sensitivity to the impor- tance and value of the festival. ey do their job in "stimulating commu- nity development through the arts," a part of their mantra. e International Folk Festival is community development, in the most or- ganic sense, as it brings people from different backgrounds together for the common goal of promoting and educating others on their unique heritage. Dr. Monte Hill has been participating in the festival with his family since the early 1980s. A retired political science professor from UNC Pembroke, Dr. Hill garnered an inter- est in the "Treasure Islands of the Pacific," as a child while living in Oregon. He came into contact with Filipinos who worked in the railroad industry. "I was fascinated by them," he said. From there, Dr. Hill majored in Asian Studies at e University of New Mexico and met his wife and mother World Showcase Travel the globe in a weekend at The Arts Council's 36th Annual International Folk Festival By miriam landru FEATURE of their five children during his doctoral studies at e Uni- versity of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. He also speaks his wife's native language of Tagalog (ta-ga-low). Dr. Hill and his family began their involvement with the IFF when they moved to the area in 1982 and were intro- duced to Gloria Canonizado, a local icon in Fayetteville's Filipino-American community and a famous folk dancer in her native country. Canonizado has been a part of the festival since its inception in 1978. "e festival has gotten so much larger and has had many changes in spon- sorship," Dr. Hill stressed. Current sponsors include e Fayetteville Observer, Coca-Cola, R.A. Jef- freys Distributing Company, Cape Fear Eye Associates, Zip- Quest, the city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council. Because of this, the festival is free…but native wares and foods like Dr. Hill's favorite Filipino BBQ shish kabob is only a small extra fee. While you could say Dr. Hill "married" into the Filipino Com- munity, Joanne Hunt was born into the Italian way of life. A third generation Italian-American and president of the lo- cal chapter of Sons of Italy, Hunt grew up exposed to the flavors, language and culture of her motherland. ough she herself cannot speak the "language of amore," her knowledge and love of Italy trump that small fact. "We grew up with it. We are authentic. We grew up with our heritage. We do have people straight from Italy who joined our group and they do have the accents. e festival goers that come to our booth love to hear their accents!" Hunt chuckled. A Pittsburgh, Philadelphia native, she moved here in the late 1980s with her military husband and fam- ily and found the Sons of Italy through attending the IFF. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh! ere's Italians down

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