About the Festival: Mission & History
Triangle Russian Festival Goals
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To introduce Russian culture to the general public, and to promote the understanding of the unique cultural and ethnic heritage of the country.
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To unite the Slavic, and the Central and Western Asian communities in the Triangle Area.
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To reinforce Russian-identity among the Russian population in the Triangle Area.
The Rotary Children's Fund
The Rotary Children’s Fund (RCF) is an arts nonprofit organization established in 2003 as an independent initiative developed by a group of Rotarians and optimists with the support of Rocky-River Rotary Club (Rocky-River, OH).
The RCF aims to promote music and dance and constantly works towards its mission of preserving folk culture and building cultural bridges between the USA and Eastern European countries through performing arts.
RCF's Mission
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Preserving and promoting folk culture as well as youth extracurricular dance and musical activities.
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Providing opportunities to the talented youth from the Slavic countries, and Central and Western Asian countries to share their talents with the U.S. audiences and to be exposed to the U.S. history, culture and traditions.
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Sparking Americans’ engagement with the broader world by exploring authentic cultural diversity outside of the United States through outstanding in quality and originality live youth performances.
The Golden Gates Cultural Youth Exchange Program
To accomplish its mission, in 2003 the RCF established the Golden Gates Cultural Youth Program. Three times a year folk ensembles from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan team up together and tour across the USA representing their cultures.
On the one side, young talented performers from ages 8 to 21 introduce their cultures through traditional songs, dances and music to the American audiences. At the same time, participants of the program learn the English language, meet new friends, and see different parts of the country, including the Grand Canyon National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Washington, D.C. and many more.
On the other side, general American audiences, including local schools, senior citizen communities, and ethnic communities learn about traditions and culture of these countries through interactive concert programs.
If you want to host youth performers the days around the Festival, please contact the Golden Gates Program Coordinator Vitaliy Bezrodnov by email at GoldenGatesCompany@gmail.com or by phone at (216) 214-0828.