World of Montgomery Festival Returns with Help of KID Museum

WHEATON—The World of Montgomery Festival returns to Wheaton in a few weeks, but with new life breathed into it. 

The World of Montgomery Festival is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, in the large parking lot at Grandview Avenue and Reedie Drive.

The festival began in 2008, but lack of funding resulted in no festival in 2010. In 2011, the festival came back, featuring a health fair and projects coordinated by the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.

In addition to the ethnic food, music and dance performances from years past, this year's festival will highlight the cultures of four large immigrant populations in Montgomery County.

The county partnered with the Kid International Discovery Museum to create an International Village, with four large tents representing China, India, El Salvador and Ethiopia. Children can get a "passport" stamped at each tent for participating in different activities, such as a scavenger hunt.

Bruce Adams, director of the county's Office of Community Partnership, called KID Museum's involvement "a huge gamechanger" for the festival.

"We see it as our community debut," said Cara Lesser, co-founder of KID Museum. Although the museum does not yet have a physical space to call home, Lesser said the organization is considering various locations in Montgomery County, including Wheaton.

This year, the Gaithersburg-based Manna Food Center and Habitat for Humanity, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, will be at the festival.

Funding for the festival comes from the Fund for Montgomery, which is independent of the county and overseen by The Community Foundation for Montgomery County, a nonprofit. 

Photo galleries from the 2011 World of Montgomery Festival:

• Irish Music and Dancing
• Indonesian Dancers
• Venezuelan Drummers