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Tibetan Cultural Traditions Celebrated in Hartford
April 11, 1996 - Hartford, CT

Tibetan cultural traditions will be celebrated at a spring festival, to be held Saturday, May 11 from 12:00pm - 5:00pm at 2 Hartford Square West (off Wyllys Street).
The event will present Tibetan traditions including an exhibit of hand-crafted items, an open-air bazaar featuring colorful Tibetan clothes and traditional cuisine, music and dance performances, and artists' demonstrations of their crafts. Tibet's most popular singer, DaDon, will also perform. A specialist in Tibetan Buddhism studies will introduce performers and provide background.

"We're honored to work with the Connecticut Tibetans to do whatever we can to help preserve their heritage," said Lynne Williamson, Director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program. "Because of almost 50 years of Chinese occupation, much of the survival of Tibet's culture remains with its refugees. Hopefully, when Tibet regains its independence, these people can go back and rebuild their country."

Regional Tibetan artists and performers to be showcased are woodcarver Ngawang Choedar; weaver Tsering Yangzom; thangka painters Jampa Tsondue and Kalsang Jorden; stone mason Sonam Lama from Massachusetts; singer DaDon and her group; flautist Lakedhen Shingsur; musician Thupten Tenzin; and the Tibetan Dance Troupe from New York. The Connecticut residents include Jorden of Torrington, Tsondue of Clinton, Choedar of West Haven, DaDon of Middletown, Shingsur and Yangzom of Old Saybrook, and Tenzin of Stratford.

The festival is being sponsored by the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program of the Institute for Community Research (ICR). The exhibit will continue in ICR's gallery through December, 12:00pm to 4:00pm weekdays. Admission is free.

ICR's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program works with communities throughout the state to identify, document, and present traditional arts and artists. The festival and exhibit are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts' Folk and Traditional Arts
Program, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Community Folklife Program, The Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the Connecticut Humanities Council.