The Milford Cultural Council (MCC) invites all members of the community to celebrate our cultural and artistic diversity by gathering at its planned Multicultural Performing Arts Festival Stage, which will launch Celebrate Milford’s performance schedule in the Town Park bandshell on Saturday, May 20. 

Opening the stage at 10:30 a.m. will be the PanNeubean Steel Band, led by Milford resident Jefferey Clayton, a U.S. Army veteran. The band will play a variety of Caribbean music that draws from Afro-Caribbean, contemporary, jazz, soul, fusion, and classical music styles. Additional performances include the Murphy Academy of Irish Step Dance, and a poem by Egyptian poet Farouk Gouida, recited by Milford resident Atef Sorial. Local artist Amy Adams will be on the lawn near the stage live painting scenes from the performances on two canvases. Additional performances will be announced at a later date. 

The council will be supplementing the performing arts stage with a nearby tent featuring an exhibit of native clothing and two giveaways focused on Milford’s primary immigrant populations: a multicultural coloring book with original illustrations by Milford Cultural Council member Khizra Syeda and a list of reading recommended by Milford Town Library librarians.

Two demonstrations are being hosted in the tent. From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. young people can participate in an interactive Mad Science polymer structure demonstration creating slime, and from 1 to 2:30 p.m., attendees of all ages are invited to learn about different types of musical instruments in the instrument petting zoo, provided courtesy of Milford’s Music & Arts. 

“We are so excited to be working with Celebrate Milford to highlight Milford’s melting pot of diverse cultures. We invite everyone to join us at the bandshell for the showcase of local performing artists, as well as in the tent to check out our exhibits and demonstrations and to learn more about the work of the Milford Cultural Council,” stated MCC Vice Chair Sandee Buckley.

The bandshell in Milford Town Park is located at the corner of Congress and Walnut Streets, just west of Memorial Elementary School. The rain date for Celebrate Milford is Sunday, May 21. The Cultural Council tent will close at 3 p.m., but other Celebrate Milford events will continue until 7 p.m. 

The Milford Cultural Council is grateful to the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, for providing a grant through its Festivals & Projects Program to help fund the council’s planned activities for Celebrate Milford. The Mass Cultural Council has a budget of $15.7 million, including an appropriation of nearly $14 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment. Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth.

The Milford Cultural Council seeks to promote excellence, inclusion, education and diversity in the arts, humanities, and sciences to foster a rich cultural experience for all Milford residents. The council welcomes ideas, recommendations, and feedback regarding programs and events funded or sponsored by the council. Interested Milford residents are encouraged to attend meetings, which are held every third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. typically in Room 14 of Town Hall. Comments and requests for information can be emailed to the council at [email protected]. Learn more online at: MilfordMA.gov/milford-cultural-council.