Pangea Cultural Festival Celebrates 30 Years

The event began in 1994, but has seen major growth in the past decade.

MOORHEAD, MN (KVRR) – “The musical traditions from all around the world – they’re going to get your toes tapping,” said Markus Krueger of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.

Krueger could be seen at the 30th iteration of Pangea: Cultivate Our Cultures representing his Scottish heritage with his family’s tartan. He said Pangea always blows him away with how people like him could interact with folks of so many differing backgrounds.

“We had this Vietnamese-American folk singer talking to a Haitian-American folk singer about music, and in the background, I saw all these kids from Bhutan dancing on stage, and I’m this guy with Scandinavian roots – and I just thought ‘Nowhere but America could this happen’,” he said.

The event has grown massively since its inception in 1994 – something to which Yokesim Gunaratne can attest, as she created it in the first place.

“When I started it, it was small, it was in schools. So you may have 500 people. But in 2010, I partnered with the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. So it grew really big,” she said.

There was everything from fashion shows and musical performances to vendor booths and, of course, the food.

Those in charge of the festival say it’s a testament to the community’s open-mindedness that Pangea continues to rise in popularity.

The Historical Society says they broke an attendance record with Pangea this year, estimating that around 1,600 people showed up.