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_— Pharos bv Daw* JohnsonJoan Kunderman demonstrates belly dancing at the Lebanese pavilion, while King Ricardo goes under a limbo bar at the Caribbean pavilion. But Karen 5awz has a quieter time in the garden at the Japanese pavilion.Knowledge of country needed, arts council saysFolklorama queens are more than just beautiful girlsBy STEVE WHYSALLOne of the highlights of this year’s Folklorama will be the crowning of Miss Folklorama at the closing ceremony at the Convention Centre Sunday.Thirty four girls, who are acting as hostesses at their respective pavilions for the eight days of the festival, are competing for the title.However, the Winnipeg Folk Arts Council, which coordinates the festival, is quick to point out that theMiss Folklorama pageant is not a simply a beauty contest.‘•To begin with, the girl chosen to represent her pavilion is acting as the pavilion’s ambassadoress.“The main criteria for choosing the pavilion queen, therefore, is her knowledge of the culture and people she represents and her participation in her community and pavilion events,” the council says.This emphasis on the personal knowledge and participation of the girls involved is reflected in the method used by the judges for choosing Miss Folklorama.Each pavilion queen is interviewed twice by the judges. The first interview is before Folklorama week and the second is conducted during a visit to the pavilion to see how the queen performs as a hostess.The final scoring is based 10 per cent on knowledge of the culture and country represented, 40 per cent on participation in the cultural community and in pavilion and country activities, and 20 per cent on poise and personality.Folklorama is a festival dedicated to promoting a greater understanding, awareness and appreciation of the many ethno-cultural group,s in the province,” the folk arts council says.The girl chosen as Miss Folklorama, then, is the one who the judges feel is best able to personify the ideal of Folklorama.”“She Is the one who,through her knowledge of her culture, is best able to express to all Manitobans the varied richness of the cultural mosaic which is Manitoba.”In July, all but four of this year’s 34 contestants, travelled to Minneapolis to take part in a weekend of ‘Aqua-tennial’ celebrations, the highlight of which was the mammoth Aquatennial parade.During the weekend, the girls handed out brochures,chatted with crowds and invited all they met to visit Winnipeg during Folklorama.It was the first time a group representing the folk arts council had taken part in the Minneapolis festival.The council has since reported a favorable response from Minnesotans, and as the reputation of Folklorama spreads, it is anticipated that pavilion queens will be asked to take part in more tourist promotion.The seven judges, whohave already visited manypavilions to interview thequeens, are David Moroni, associate artistic director-prineiple of Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s professional programs; Casimir Carter, Free Press theatre and arts critic; Helene Martin, director of the schools program. Festival du Voyageur; Shirley Smith, social develop-menr officer; A! Golden, city businessman; Leo Cholakis, city lawyer; and LeslieWagner, Miss Manitoba 1977.in addition to the crowning of Miss Folklorama, the audience at the closing ceremony will be in for another treat.This year’s entertainment will feature the Commonwealth Games show, a 154-hour song and dance extra-vangza entitled Red River Folkore.The 57 member cast appeared in Edmonton during the games as Manitoba’s contribution to the culturalcomponent of the Games.
Newspaper Details
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Tue, Aug 15, 1978
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Jay F.
CA 27 Jul 2020
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