Thousands of people visited Elmwood Park in Roanoke last weekend for the 24th annual Local Colors festival – the festival that celebrates Roanoke and its cultural diversity. Dancers, bands, and martial artists were among the groups to perform on the new stage on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
And off to one side, Pearl Fu, dressed in Chinese attire, sat at a table talking to a constant stream of people. They all came to thank her for her nearly two decades as chairwoman of the festival. Fu said Parkinson’s has begun to take a toll and she’s decided to step down.
“That lady is the star of the Star city – if Roanoke had an ambassador, it would be Pearl Fu,” said Bedford resident Wallace Post who is a big supporter of Fu and the festival. He was dressed as a Norwegian “Jarl – someone who is to Vikings what an Indian chief is to Indians.” With a headdress of horns, he was quite an impressive figure walking through the festival.
“I fell head over heels in love with a Norwegian girl,” Post continued. “Her name you can find in the archives of the Viking history.” Her parents were from Norway and in falling in love with her, he “fell in love with their culture. I love the Norwegian art culture and I always had in the back of my mind an inkling that there was Viking blood in this Dutchman and it turns out that that’s very possibly true.”
Post has been dressing as a Viking for a decade. “I do this because I’m extroverted. I love people.”
But it’s not just a weekend gig for him. Post is totally immersed by the Norwegian culture. He speaks of his in-laws who had a house in New Jersey. “When you stepped off the road onto their property you were stepping back into Norway. The Norwegian culture was everywhere in their house and now it permeates my house.”
More than 100 countries were represented by booths selling a variety of food and handmade crafts. Beside the German booth, three men stood over a hot grill, cooking bratwurst. “We ordered 500 and. . .that’s the goal – to cook and sell them all,” said Tom Geiger. The bratwurst was made of pork and beef and made by a German immigrant company in Texas.
Earl Bobbitt from Roanoke helped at the booth. His wife is German. “Like our hamburger is, the bratwurst is – it’s pretty much the national food of Germany. Bratwurst is synonymous with Germany.”
Meanwhile, people lining both sides of the sidewalk began to move out of the way to reveal a handcart being pulled along the sidewalk. Pearl Fu was the lone rider, waving, shaking hands and talking to well-wishers as she made her way through the crowd.
It’s clear to see that Fu’s legacy of bringing different people and cultures together in Roanoke will continue to grow and be enjoyed for years to come.
– Beverly Amsler
