Candler Lowe, Campus Carrier Deputy News Editor
Berry’s Religion in Students Experience will host the 11th annual World Music and Dance Festival on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the library lawn, and this year it will represent even more parts of the world.
Junior Courtney Wimberly, president of RISE, said that in the past there have been acts better classified as American psychedelic rock, but that this year the festival acts will focus more on music and dance of the entire world.
“This year we focused less on the spectacle and more on incorporating acts that represent the world and I’m really proud of us for that,” Wimberly said.
According to Wimberly, there will be more dance troupes than there have been in the past, including the Atlanta Chinese Ballet company, but one of the main attractions is the band Ogya World Music band, a band that blends West African music with rock, blues, reggae and rap, that has been with the festival since the beginning.
Wimberly has been involved with the organization since her freshman year and said she worked with Jen Corry, associate professor of Spanish and the advisor for RISE, to contact vendors and artists for the festival as well as advertise the festival to Berry and the Rome community.
The festival will provide an atmosphere where people will be able to enjoy each other, artist performances, and good food, Wimberly said.
The festival has free admission and people can come and go as they please. Wimberly suggested that people can bring Frisbees, blankets, or even their homework to the event.
Although in the past few years the festival has been held at the Clara Bowl, this year it will be held in between Green and the Memorial Library on the steps by the chapel. Wimberly was excited for the change in venue and hopes that it will garner more attention from students passing by.
“We’re happy to be back by the library,” Wimberly said. “If you can hear music from where you are, you can follow it.”
The festival, which is put on by RISE every year, will feature a number of dance troupes, music groups, and street vendors such as food trucks from the local area.
Wimberly said that many people are unaware that the festival exists despite the way it brings outside communities into the “Berry bubble.” However, she said she has enjoyed the festival for the past two years and hopes that more people will attend this year.
“The festival brings the Berry and Rome communities together,” Wimberly said. “It was created for a declaration of harmony through the healing power of music and dance.”
Although the festival will be held at the same time as BerryCon and the Arts and Crafts Festival, instead of fearing for the worst, Wimberly hopes that the three events will bring in larger audiences for each other.