Since 1945 the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation (CCGF) has celebrated One World Day exemplifying the theme of the Gardens: “Peace through Mutual Understanding."  One of the most popular annual traditions is the Parade of Flags.

The Parade of Flags is like the Olympics opening ceremony.  People in colorful traditional costumes will carry flags of their heritage and march down MLK Blvd. from the Irish Garden toward the Italian Garden.  One of each of their flags will be placed in a holder at the new Centennial Peace Plaza culminating in a striking and colorful example of Cleveland’s ethnic diversity.

The 75th annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens will be held on Sunday August 29, 2021 from 11 AM – 6PM on both East Blvd and MLK Boulevard. The Parade of Flags will step off at noon.  One World Day was cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic but pictures and videos from the 2019 Parade are at http://www.clevelandpeople.com/events/2019/owd-2019-parade.htm.

The popular Parade of Flags promises to be the largest and most diverse parade in recent memory.    CCGF President Dr. Wael Khoury is leading an aggressive effort to include nations in the Parade who are not yet represented by a Garden.  Expect to see units from the Indonesian, Dutch, Brazilian, Japanese, Scottish and other communities marching in the Parade of Flags along with representatives of the 30 or so communities that already have a Garden. 

Not only will dozens of heritages be represented but a diverse group of TV personalities will serve as MCs for the Parade. We are honored to have Chris Tanaka (Ch. 19 anchor) returning as MC.  This year we will also have Danielle Wiggins (Ch. 3 morning anchor), Tracy Carloss (Ch. 5 weekend anchor) and Maia Belay (Ch. 8 reporter) serving as co-MCs.  That’s the kind of respect and cooperation that One World Day generates. 

One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946. As always, it is free and open to the public and offers free parking.  Attendees will have dozens of choices for cultural entertainment, ethnic food and drink, tours, demonstrations and shopping.

More about the 75th One World Day at https://clevelandoneworldday.org/2021/

Contact

One World Day Producer
Johnny Wu                              johnny@mdifilm.com             216-539-4634 office

One World Day Media Relations Chair
Dan Hanson                dan@ClevelandPeople.com               216-990-5925 cell

Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation Executive Director

Lori Ashyk                               l.ashyk@clevelandculturalgardens.org.  216-220-3075.