Dragon Day
Goal to have children and their parents exposed to other cultures, seeing both similarities such as dragons in many cultures and unique qualities such as the dances by the Chinese dance group.
Families, and also several adults without children that attended, were extremely pleased with the event,
with 94% giving it the highest ranking on the survey. Several survey responses indicated that they
enjoyed the opportunity to see cultural events such as this brought to St. Peter and expressed a desire for
us to offer future similar events. Families seems to have a great respect for the dancers and through the
explanations about the dance gained some thoughtful understanding of Chinese culture. Families
with children adopted from China also expressed personal thanks for providing them with an
opportunity to celebrate their child’s cultural heritage and share it with the community at large.
Additionally, through the art projects and story books, families were also exposed the idea that
similarities exist between cultures even in imaginative forms such as dragons. We had 111 people attend with 52 being children, which far exceeded our expectations (which were 20-40 participants). Of those attending 18 families were new to us and also unexpectedly we had a number of adults without children attend the event because of their interest in seeing the Chinese dance group. Numerous families commented on the survey that they really appreciated the opportunity to see Chinese dance for the first time.
Traverse des Sioux Library System and St. Peter Public Library. Partner Organization(s) Contribution/Role in the Program: Preparation for event, helped prepare and lead art projects, read stories.