LOCALadk Magazine

24 Winter 2019 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk The intoxicating smell of fresh tamales, the bubbling sounds of the tabla drum, and the smiles of West African dancers as their dance circle swells to include young and old, men and women. These are the sights, sounds, and smells of the Ad- irondack Global Arts Festival, a festival to engage the North Countr y in the cultural arts and benefit children in Kenya. The festival encompasses dance, drum, and food workshops, an international street fair, film, the "Beat Authority," school work- shops, and more. It is coordinated and supported by Reason 2 Smile, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Adirondack Diversity Initiative, John Brown Lives, Lake Placid Film Society, and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST). The Adirondack Global Arts Festival grew out of the World Music Festival, which Keela Grimette began in 2012 as a fund- raiser for the nonprofit Reason 2 Smile. Grimette was inspired to create the nonprofit in 2007 to help support the Jambo Jipya School and Orphanage in Mtwapa, Kenya, after 10 weeks of volunteering at the school. Keela ran the World Music Festival with co-organizers Jackie Gilmore and Tammy Loewy until she stepped down from the board of Reason 2 Smile in 2017. The following year, Gilmore and Loewy helped to create the Adirondack Global Arts Com- mittee to continue Keela's vision. The Committee includes six nonprofits whose interests center on spreading global arts education and inclusivity in the Adirondacks. Thus began the Adirondack Global Arts Festival! This year's festival will again be loaded with sounds, sights, and tastes from around the world. As the com- mittee to create the Adirondack Global Arts Festival has grown, so has its offerings, including bringing Sa- ranac Lake into the festival's scope. This year's events will run from Friday, March 6, to Saturday, March 7. For an up-to-date listing of events, and how to pre-register for workshops, please visit our website at ADKglobalartsfest.org. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Global Arts Festival By Tammy Loewy Photos by ROOST

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