One World Day Cleveland Cultural Gardens August 25, 2024
The 78th annual One World Day was another amazing event. Even with the morning rain, Cleveland Police estimated that 35-40,000 people attended at some point during the day. One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946.
One World Day began at 11 AM with a Naturalization Ceremony where new citizens (from about 20 countries) were sworn in by Honorable Judge J. Philip Calabrese. It was an inspiring and emotional ceremony. New citizens were so proud and happy and shared their joy with family members.
The Parade of Flags continues to be a highlight of the day. Over 1500 marchers from over 50 heritages marched in colorful costumes carrying flags. In a sign of unity, the MCs for the Parade were from the 4 major TV stations in Cleveland (left to right in the photo): Tino Bovenzi from Fox8, Kelly Dobeck from WOIO, Jiovanni Lieggi from WKYC and Tracy Carloss from WEWS.
One World Day Parade of Flags MCs
The Parade marched down MLK Blvd. and began with the One World Day Banner, followed by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Dr. Wael Khoury (Board Chair of Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation). Then the Irish American Club East Side Pipe and Drums followed by the American Garden represented by members of the Rotary Club of Cleveland. Then the representatives of over 50 communities.
After the Parade, a brief welcoming ceremony took place with the singing of the national anthem and remarks from Garden and Civic leaders.
Alex Wong leading the National Anthem
Cleveland Fire Department Color Guard
A variety of ethnic and cultural performances took place on the main stage at the Centennial Peace Plaza including a very special closing act - the United States Fleet Force's Brass Quintet.
Living Traditions Dancers on the Plaza Stage
Abrepaso Flamenco dancers in the Plaza
United States Fleet Force's Brass Quintet in the Plaza
Here is a video of the US Fleet Forces Band's Brass Quintet playing a piece created just for them.
Tens of thousands visited the 40+ Gardens, Children's Village, Marketplaces, Beer Gardens, Food Trucks and more. People walked, rode bikes and scooters or rode the free busses, trams and golf carts to visit as many Gardens as possible.
I particularly liked when a group representing one heritage performed in a Garden of a different heritage such as the Murphy Irish Dancers in the Greek Garden, the Iranian dancers in the Slovenian Garden, Spanish Flamenco in the French Garden and the Brazilian Samba da Cidade in the Uzbek Garden.
Murphy Irish Dancers in the Greek Garden
Samba da Cidade in the Uzbek Garden
Iranian dancers in Slovenian Garden
Spanish Flamenco in the French Garden
Here is a video of some drumming from the Latin group Samba da Cidade in the Uzbekistan garden.
Here is a short video of Irish dancing from the Murphy Irish Dancers in the Greek Cultural Garden.
Children (of all ages) visited the gardens and learned something or performed a task and got their Passport to Peace stamped.
Passport to Peace
You can see more photos and videos from One World Day 2024 on the pages for the particular cultures. For example, see more from the Albanian Garden on One World Day on the Albanian page - and so on.
One World Day could not happen without the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation Board led by Chair Dr. Wael Khoury and Executive Director Lori Ashyk and the support of the City of Cleveland and various other entities. Producer Johnny Wu's team of committee chairs include Tom Turkaly, Sheila Murphy Crawford, Dorjan Scott, Oanh Loi-Powell, Angela Shute Woodson, Dan Hanson, Lisa Wong, Mike Gibbons and Nick Mulbach along with over 100 volunteers.
Cleveland Plain Dealer Front Page
The 2025 One World Day will be held on Sunday August 24, 2025. Save the Date!
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