"Festivals are there to teach us that life is a celebration." Purvi Ranga
Attending festivals feels like a celebration. Festivals have applauded German culture as far back as medieval or Renaissance times. Featuring food, music, dancing, and even education, the historical German fest projects positivity. A local festival powered by the Museum of Discovery and Science is called Science in the Sun. Inspiring our community to "connect, create, innovate and celebrate STEM", this festival cheers science. I recently attended both of these festivals.
On a frosty day in December, I traveled to a fascinating historical German Fest. Around several churches in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, booths were set up to sell German food and crafts. Celebrating their 34th German fest, this city holds the oldest market in the US. Happily, we enjoyed hot cocoa, chimney cakes, and curly fries. Jugglers and a traditional German Santa posed for pictures. With my mom's friend and her family, we discovered cuckoo clocks, a towering windmill, and scherenschnitte, which means scissor cuts in German. The scenes and designs are all cut out of paper and framed. Although there were many items to buy, we only came home with a cinnamon scented beeswax heart. Since 1434, German fests have captivated wanderers.
On a sunny Florida day in February, I ambled around an Interesting community Science Fest. At USF Poynter Park, "Science in the Sun" was held for the first time in 3 years. Attending with my mom and sister, we saw my cousin Zane, who showed us how to capture a sample of air and view it under a microscope. We devoured cotton candy. We inspected a robot dog. We assembled a lava lamp from a test tube. While we crafted kaleidoscopes, shaped sticky slime, and built bottles of layered rock, we studied science. At the NASA booth, we collected a satellite model and discovered the Artemis program, which is endeavoring to send the first woman to the moon. Strolling through festival fields, we experimented with Science.
At the German fest, I had fun trying traditional German foods and seeing crafts from history. At the Science fest, I enjoyed the unusual activities and seeing the garden. Most importantly, we celebrated with others. We learned details about culture and science that we wouldn't want to forget. Festivals teach us life is a celebration.