Celebrating cultural diversity on One World Day.The 79th annual One World Day at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens will take place on Sunday, Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Martin Luther King and East Boulevards.

One World Day (OWD) has occurred annually at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens since 1946. The day celebrates multi-culturalism, presenting an opportunity for people to learn about the many nationalities and cultural groups who call Northeast Ohio home.

Some events to experience OWD:

• Visit about 40 Cultural Gardens, including the newly-established Bangladesh Cultural Garden.
• One World Day kicks off with the Parade of Flags at 12 p.m. in the Serbian Cultural Garden and travels to the Croatian Cultural Garden. The colorful event features 60 cultures and includes hundreds of people marching in traditional heritage wear and proudly carrying their flags.
• Cleveland baseball legend Carlos Baerga will be the grand marshal and Cuyahoga County executive Chris Ronayne will accompany Baerga.
• A Federal judge will swear in 25 new citizens during the Naturalization Ceremony at 11 a.m. at Centennial Peace Plaza on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, across from St. Casimir’s Way.
• Travel the world without leaving University Circle with the Passport to Peace—a fun activity where attendees are given free Passports to take to any of the gardens. Complete an activity for a Passport stamp. Kids who turn in their completed passports get a prize.
• Each garden will have food representing the garden’s culture. Many gardens will have food trucks stationed there.
• Two Beer Gardens–in the German Cultural Garden, 1038East Blvd., and the Irish Cultural Garden, 1201 MLK Blvd.--are easily accessible.
• There will be a variety of ethnic performances throughout the gardens, plus performances from the Singing Angels.
• Visit the Market Places for shopping, food, and cultural resources.

One World Day logo

“Many of the Gardens will have a small display table of their native textiles, and their representatives will be on hand to describe them,” says Tom Turkaly, executive director of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation. “Textiles have been used over the centuries as a means of identity for ethnic communities.

“The symbols and patterns found on folk dress and items used in daily life help build a sense of community,” Turkaly continues. “Many can be attributed to a specific village or region of a country. Attendees can witness the many similarities and differences between different cultures' textiles while touring the Garden at One World Day,”

Take the tour
Additionally, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation will this year debut self-guided audio tours of 30 Cultural Gardens.

Developed by Cleveland Historical and curated by the Cleveland State University Center for Public History + Digital Humanities, the tours are available both through an app and on Cleveland Historical’s Tour Page.

The tours guide visitors through each Cultural Garden, describing the community that created the garden and the culture’s immigration history.

A One World Day performanceThe full self-guided audio tour will soon become a permanent feature for the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.

"One World Day is a great day where every culture and ethnic group come together to celebrate the rich culture and diversity that Cleveland has to offer,” says OWD producer Johnny Wu.

There will be free parking at the Cleveland Metroparks South Gordon Park lot at East 72nd Street and MLK Boulevard to the north, or the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center employee parking lot at 1606 E. 105th Street, Cleveland. A shuttle will be available to bring patrons to and from the VA employee parking lot to the south entrance of the event. There will also be free trams circling the Cultural Gardens grounds.

All parking and transportation information can be found on the One World Day website.