Peabody celebrates diversity

By JULIE KIRKWOOD

Essex County Newspapers

PEABODY _ If there is a melting pot in America, it is encapsulated in the city of Peabody.

Waves of immigrants have settled downtown for generations.

There are homeowners in downtown Peabody today who speak only Portuguese, and stores, restaurants and a church within walking distance that understand their language.

The Portuguese population moved in as the Greek community started to disperse. Now service agencies are noticing Albanian and Russian immigrants moving into downtown apartments.

Local politicians have not been blind to the multi-cultural characteristic of Peabody.

When Peter Torigian ran for mayor for the first time in 1979, he promised to do something to honor Peabody's ethnic diversity. A few years later he and City Councilor Judy Selesnick planned the city's first International Festival.

This year Torigian and Selesnick are planning their 18th International Festival together on Sunday, Sept. 23.

The festival usually draws a crowd of 80,000 or more. Peabody Square is blocked off to traffic and filled with food and activity booths.

There will be three stages with continuous live, free entertainment at this year's festival.

About 40 or 50 local artists plan to show their oil paintings, watercolors and photographs in an artists' galleria.

"It is Peabody's way of celebrating the ethnic diversity that comprises the city," Selesnick says.

The festival is paid for almost entirely by contributions from local businesses. Much of the ethnic food is prepared by hand for the festival.

The International Festival begins at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23, and lasts until 5:30 p.m.

Admission and entertainment are free, but if you want to sample the ethnic foods, bring some money and arrive early. Some of the most popular homemade foods tend to sell out in the first few hours.

Last year, the United Polish Organization ran out of kielbasa and golabkis two hours after the festival began. They started cooking four days ahead of time, but it wasn't enough.

Polish food is one of the most popular features of the festival, Selesnick says. The Jewish groups also draw a crowd, as do the Italian and Greek booths.

There are also more exotic flavors to sample, including Armenian, Egyptian, Korean, Filipino, Finnish and Lithuanian.

The festivities actually begin a week earlier with a road race and a Kid's Day.

Registration for the road race and the fun walk is $12. Registration forms are available by calling City Hall at (978) 532-3000.

There will be refreshments, prizes and raffles for all participants.

Selesnick has booked a series of children's performers to entertain the crowd. There will also be face painters, costumed characters, a moon bounce and balloons.

And there is sure to be plenty of food to make the kids happy, including slush, popcorn, candy and hot dogs.

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