The MIGRATION FESTIVAL began three years ago when Lorna and Imre Kepes expressed interest in sharing Guatemalan art with the immigrant families who utilize programming at Montague Catholic Social Ministries in Turners Falls. Lorna, herself a programming volunteer at MCSM, knew that many of these families were of Mayan descent, originating from Guatemala and the Chiapas region of Mexico. While visiting the Center during a playgroup, the mothers – seeing the paintings from Guatemala - became nostalgic about the coffee harvest, volcanoes in the landscape, and the food of their homelands. Lorna and these women formed a plan with Montague Catholic Social Ministries to share their culture with their Franklin County neighbors.
The 3rd Annual MIGRATION FESTIVAL : A Celebration of Human and Natural Biodiversity is scheduled on Saturday, October 27 at the Great Falls Discovery Center. From 1-5pm the Discovery Center will reprise the self-guided monarch butterfly StoryWalk®- “Gotta Go! Gotta Go!” The festival continues from 5 to 7:30pm with traditional arts, crafts, cuisine, dance and music. Free and handicap accessible. Sponsored by MCSM, DCR, The Guatemala Art and Culture Connection, RiverCulture and the diverse local people of the upper Connecticut River Valley.