Festival of Nations celebrated in Houghton and Hancock

The celebration, formerly known as the Parade of Nations, brings together people in Hancock and Houghton for a celebration of the local multicultural community. This year, the festival was organised by Michigan Tech for the 37th time. The festival is also part of the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture programme of Hancock.

In previous years, the celebration consisted of a parade of different nationalities represented in the Michigan Technological University and the local community. More than eighty different nations are represented this way. The festival was preceded by different flags flying across Houghton and Hancock, with each flag representing at least one international student in the university.

From Parade to Festival

This year, the procession going through Houghton was retired, prompting the change in the name of the celebration itself. Michigan Tech International Programs and Services Director Christian Montecinos explains the reason for the change: “The parade part of it really didn’t do a lot of that connection piece because you’re essentially just looking at the students marching in front of you, and so I wanted to expand it, make it a little bit more fun and relaxed … [and] have the community and the students really be able to engage in conversation.”

Programme

The theme of the festival was “7 Wonders of the World”. The festival extended from Dee Stadium to the Houghton Waterfront Pier adjacent to the Portage Lake District Library. The waterfront featured a variety of activities from international entertainment and local vendors to community organisations and family-friendly games. The celebration was thus an expanded version of the previous years.

A key element of the festival was the Multicultural Food Festival. The food festival continued the tradition of the previous years, hosting venues of various dishes prepared by the international students and community organisations.