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Celebrating 22 Years of World Fest

by Emma Bohmann

A vocalist in a flowing purple dress sings with joy while a guitarist plays seated beside her, accompanied by a student choir in the background.
Photo Credit: Suncast Studios
Farah Siraj collaborates with local students for a community concert in Sullivan, Indiana, as part of her 2024 World Fest residency.

For over two decades, Arts Midwest’s World Fest brought global music to the heart of the Midwest, connecting communities through weeklong residencies, school workshops, and unforgettable cross-cultural exchange.

A child’s crayon drawing of a musical performance under a banner that reads “Fandango.” The stage features seven performers: musicians playing string instruments, dancers in flowing dresses, and a person playing a drum. Above the stage, the child has written, “Mexico band called Chuchumbé that’s style is Son jarocha.” Blue and purple checkmarks in the sky represent birds or decorations, and the scene is framed by a yellow border.
A student drawing from Chuchumbé’s 2005 World Fest Tour.

On a chilly October night in 2003, a crowd gathered at the Fairmont Opera House in southern Minnesota.

They’d come to see Chuchumbé, a musical ensemble from Veracruz, Mexico, but many already felt like they knew them.

Over the past week, Fairmont residents had crossed paths with the musicians in classrooms, council meetings, Rotary clubs, and grocery checkout lines.

By the time Chuchumbé took the stage, it was clear that this wasn’t just a concert. It was the culmination of a week of shared meals, music, conversation, and cultural connection.

It was also the start of something bigger. It was one of the very first Arts Midwest World Fest tours.

What We Learned: World Fest

Read more about what we’re taking away from World Fest and bringing into our future work in our “What We Learned” companion piece.

Read More

Two Decades of Tours

Four adults pose arm-in-arm in front of a decorative outdoor wall with a floral wreath. They smile warmly, standing in a garden or courtyard area with greenery on either side.
Photo Credit: Arts Midwest
Former Arts Midwest President & CEO David Fraher, World Fest founder Sylvia Kaufman with husband Dick Kaufman, and former Arts Midwest Board Chair Peter Capell pose for a photo.

For 22 years—from 2003 to 2025—Arts Midwest toured international musicians and ensembles to communities across the region through World Fest.

World Fest was created by Arts Midwest’s founding President & CEO David Fraher and longtime board member Sylvia Kaufman. They designed the program with a simple mission: to foster understanding of and appreciation for global uniqueness and differences, creating opportunities for two-way cultural exchange.

Each program cycle, Arts Midwest partnered with nine communities—one in each Midwest state. Over the course of two to three years, we toured anywhere from four to six ensembles to these communities for weeklong residencies.

Activities included school workshops for students of all ages, jam sessions with local musicians, performances at community and senior centers, and more—all capped off by a celebratory public concert at the end of the week.

  • 750,000

    Individuals engaged through World Fest, including more than 535,000 children

  • 2,600

    Educational World Fest events hosted in venues of all sizes.

  • 330

    Public World Fest concerts held across the Midwest

“The musicians arrived in our community as strangers and left a week later as friends. The social gatherings in homes were highlights of the week. We shared music, meals, wine, laughter, jokes and a wide range of topics in conversation with the musicians and with members of our own community that we don’t gather with often enough. The musicians’ cultural gifts of lightheartedness and openness were contagious, reminding us stoic South Dakotans not to take ourselves too seriously.”

Jane Rasmussen, Sisseton Arts Council, World Fest Partner 2013-2015
A joyful group stands in a corn maze on a sunny day, with one person jumping mid-air in excitement while others smile and pose with cameras
Photo Credit: Shigeyo Henrequez
Members of the ensemble Sharen explore a corn maze in DeKalb, Illinois, during their 2014 World Fest residency.

Adaptation and Change

It wasn’t always easy. Over the course of World Fest’s two decades of tours, we navigated changing visa requirements, COVID-19 shutdowns, and shifts in the touring landscape.

Coming out of the pandemic, we reimagined the program to focus more on celebrating the many cultures that exist here in the Midwest—including in the communities the program visited.

Despite these challenges, the program never failed in its mission. World Fest brought people of all ages together. It connected them across geography, across culture, and across language.

Over and over, we heard from participants—students, audience members, and musicians alike—that World Fest was like nothing they’d experienced before.

Two men wearing traditional clothing play wooden flutes together in a warmly lit room with wood-paneled walls and Native art in the background
Photo Credit: Shigeyo Henrequez.
A member of Manhu shares a musical moment with a local elder in Dickinson, North Dakota, during their 2018 World Fest tour.
A performer in a bright blue shirt holds up a large map of Finland while speaking to a student audience in a gymnasium.
Photo Credit: Charity Manness
A member of Okra Playground introduces Finnish geography and culture to students in Hot Springs, South Dakota, during their 2022 World Fest tour.
A vocalist in a vibrant headwrap and orange skirt sings into a microphone while a drummer plays behind her in a warmly lit performance space
Lorraine Klaasen brings South African rhythms and stories to Forest City, Iowa, during her 2016 World Fest tour.
A group of musicians sits on the floor of a school gymnasium surrounded by children, enthusiastically clapping and participating in a musical workshop
Photo Credit: Arts Midwest
Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin & Brothers lead an interactive workshop with students in Charleston, Illinois, in 2012
Four people pose together smiling at an airport. One man points playfully at the woman beside him, and everyone appears cheerful and relaxed.
Okaidja Afroso and ensemble and World Fest program manager Katie Ortman celebrate the end of a joyful residency week in Ames, Iowa, during their 2020 tour
A group of teenagers dances with arms raised in front of a mint-green band shell, smiling and swaying in unison during a joyful outdoor performance.
Photo Credit: Grant Tetmeyer
Students perform for the One Spirit music video collaboration between Iowa students and World Fest artist Hadar Maoz in 2022.
A group of performers in winter jackets pose in front of Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture, also known as “The Bean,” during a bright but cold day
Photo Credit: Arts Midwest
AnDa Union visits Chicago’s Millennium Park during their 2008 World Fest tour.
A vibrant ensemble performs on stage under dramatic lighting. A woman in a black dress smiles at the audience while fellow band members play upright bass, drums, clarinet, and violin.
Photo Credit: Eric Young Smith
Baladino performs in Midland, Michigan, during their 2013 World Fest tour.
Musicians perform for a lively group of preschool-aged children, who dance and sing along while standing on a colorful rug decorated with numbers and a sun.
Photo Credit: Lindajoy Fenley
Aysenur Kolivar leads an early childhood workshop in Adrian, Michigan, as part of her 2017 World Fest residency
A musician on stage smiles and claps while holding a small stringed instrument, framed by microphones and vibrant lighting. A drummer performs beside her.
Photo Credit: Cassidy Porter
LADAMA lights up the Bohm Theatre in Albion, Michigan, with an electrifying performance during the 2025 World Fest residency.

Curtain Call

After 22 years, the final World Fest tours have come to an end. Yet Arts Midwest’s commitment to fostering enriching, engaging, and unexpected musical experiences in Midwestern communities has not changed.

World Fest has come full circle. Two decades after that concert in Fairmont, Minnesota, the Fairmont Opera House once again hosted World Fest artists in our final 2022–2025 cycle.

The Opera House’s executive director, Blake Potthoff, was in attendance when the first World Fest tours passed through Fairmont back in 2003–2005. His experiences with Chuchumbé, Gullah Kinfolk, Esta Ensemble, and Bamboo Orchestra never left him—and in turn, he’s now able to share artists from both his local community and across the globe with the people of Fairmont.

We couldn’t ask for anything more to come out of World Fest.

“I was just a kid from small town Minnesota who didn’t know anything about African music [before World Fest]. Now, after years of influential experiences, I have the opportunity to change lives through the exact same program that helped shape and mold me. The value of that change? Priceless.”

Blake Potthoff, Fairmont Opera House, World Fest Partner 2022-2025

World Fest Artists

Spotify Playlist of World Fest Artists

World Fest Community Partners

Funders + Supporters

From its inception, World Fest was supported by a coalition of partners who provided important funds and resources. The National Endowment for the Arts, the nine Midwest State Arts Agencies, and other public and private funders, including 3M, the Hearst Foundations, BNSF Railway Foundation, and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, helped ensure the program’s success for more than two decades.

Thank you to all the funders and organizations who made the program possible!