James Burnham learned archery while working in Mongolia with the Peace Corps and participated in Sunday's archery demonstration



James Burnham learned archery while working in Mongolia with the Peace Corps and participated in Sunday's archery demonstration

Celebrating culture
Mongolian Festival features performers, traditional crafters

By Maurina Paradise

Caption: Archery at the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbataar. Images Copyright © 2000 Mike Bailey

Published Monday, September 20, 2004

Dressed in a flowing blue dress, classically trained Mongolian electric violinist Degi took the stage Saturday at the International Mongolian Festival. As she gracefully combined traditional Mongolian themes and sounds, her music evoked images of wild horses and vast lands until a techno beat came into the piece. The music changed, but continued to spur images of Mongolia's vast mountains and plains. As Degi's performance ended, the crowd erupted in applause, demanding an encore.

The International Mongolian Festival offered Bloomington the unique opportunity to experience the performances and arts of Mongolia and Tibet Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Tibetan Cultural Center.

"It is such a treat for us," said Bloomington resident Laura Jesseph "Only in Bloomington would you have the Lotus Fest and a Mongolian Festival on the same weekend."

[Excerpt]

James Burnham and David Gilroy came to the festival from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Both students have worked with Mongolian culture before. Gilroy conducts environmental research involving Northern Mongolian gold mining. Both had learned about the festival when it was being planned, Gilroy said.

Burnham learned archery while working in Mongolia with the Peace Corps and participated in Sunday's archery demonstration.

When this story was posted in October 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL Interview PCOL sits down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before. Plus the debate continues over Safety and Security.

Schwarzenegger praises PC at Convention Governor Schwarzenegger praised the Peace Corps at the Republican National Convention: "We're the America that sends out Peace Corps volunteers to teach village children." Schwarzenegger has previously acknowledged his debt to his father-in-law, Peace Corps Founding Director Sargent Shriver, for teaching him "the joy of public service" and Arnold is encouraging volunteerism by creating California Service Corps and tapping his wife, Maria Shriver, to lead it. Leave your comments and who can come up with the best Current Events Funny?

Peace Corps: One of the Best Faces of America Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and can you come up with a Political Funny?

Read the stories and leave your comments.