Miwok Park Set to Host Multicultural Day

Novato's diversity will be celebrated in full color Saturday at the seventh annual Novato Multicultural Day at .

"We have a pretty dedicated following, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger," said event chair Kim Tsuchimoto, chief financial officer at Novato-based .

The free event features music, art,  food and drink and all sorts of exhibits that showcases our cultures. Featured performers include Middle Eastern bellydancers, Native American hoop dancers, Chinese lion dancers and young martial artists.

Tsuchimoto and fellow members of the Novato Multicultural Advisory Commission came up with the idea of an annual event about eight years ago but had more of a speaking panel in mind. She remembers seeking advice from leadership students at and and they yawned at the idea.

"They basically said, 'Good luck with that,'" Tsuchimoto said. "They said they would do it for extra credit but that they were all busy and that it sounded boring. Both groups recommended that we do something outdoors, something with food, something interactive and something fun."

The organizers modeled Multicultural Day after the popular Trade Feast held by the , which is located at Miwok Park.

"I'd always been a fan of the Trade Feast, so that's exactly what we tried to do except it's not all about native Americans," said Tsuchimoto, who plans the Multicultural Day with Kathleen O'Dea, Myrna Zelin, Dee Boyd and Michele Sheehan.

Tsuchimoto said one of her favorite new things this year will be a matching game for people who love linguistics. She wrote the word "love" in 10 languages and scrambled the names of the languages, and the object is to see if you can figure out which translation is which.

The event is from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Due to limited parking, it's best to walk or ride bikes if possible.