ROCK SPRINGS — The committee organizing the annual International Day event has announced the entertainment line-up. This year’s annual festival is set for July 9 in Bunning Park and features a wide range of local, regional, and international entertainment, activities for kids, exotic foods and unique vendor items. As always, admission is FREE of charge. The celebration kicks off with the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Entertainment begins at 10:00 a.m. and continues throughout the day. The full schedule includes:

10:00 Dave Pedri and the EIO Band
11:00 Paul Taylor
12:00 Kenshin Taiko
1:00 Mariachi Zavala
2:00 Malialole Dance
3:00 Kenshin Taiko
4:00 Mariachi Zavala
5:00 Malialole Dance
6:00 Paul Taylor
7:00 Dave Pedri and the EIO Band
8:00 Swagger

In addition to hourly performances, there will be a kid’s area with crafts and activities. Tony Corona will be strolling through the park throughout the day playing the accordion. There will also be plenty of food vendors as well as over 20 imported beers available.

Dave Pedri and the EIO Band: 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Local musician Dave Pedri will be performing along with his wife Ruby, and Chynna Randall and Krysta Padilla. Dave and his band will be performing a variety of Polka, Waltz, Folk and country songs on accordion, with vocal accompaniment. They have been performing for over 20 years.

Paul Taylor: 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Adelaide-native Paul Taylor celebrates the culture of his Australian homeland in shows and workshops for all ages, sharing stories, photos and music of Aboriginal and European Australia. He is an authentic player of Aboriginal percussion and didjeridoo, having learned from the last living member of the Wardaman Aboriginal clan who also made Paul an honorary member of his people.

Taylor’s talents and dedication to the performing arts have been recognized and endorsed by the state Arts Councils of Texas, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, North and South Carolina, and South Dakota. In 2015, Taylor was awarded the Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award for his performances and arts residencies throughout the country. Taylor is mentored by Yidumduma (elder) Bill Harney, last male custodian of the Wardaman culture in Australia’s Northern Territory. He was selected as a Regional Finalist for Australian of the Year in 2013 for his work recording the culture of the Wardaman people. Trained as a social worker, Taylor has spent his life traveling and experiencing cultures from around the world. He also trained in theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK and worked professionally as an actor and stage manager in Australia’s regional theatres as well as a circus clown performing throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Residing in Laramie, Wyoming most of the year, Paul travels the US, performing and conducting hands-on interactive sessions for schools, colleges, performing arts centers, festivals, museums, libraries and community centers but still makes time to go to the Outback bush each summer. Most often his performances combine Australian storytelling with Aboriginal culture, legends, instrumental music and songs, and traditional European/Australian songs laced with bits of drama and dance, as well as Aboriginal-style mural painting and multimedia presentations. Paul has performed for and taught well over 200,000 American children in his career and has recorded 5 award-winning albums of Australian song and story, honored with Parents’ Choice Gold, NAPPA Gold Awards, Storytelling World awards and Best Educational and Best Spoken Word Recording awards from Children’s Music.

In addition to his on-stage performances, Paul will be creating a mural of the Green River, in an Australian style of painting that we can keep to symbolize the unity of our community. All guests to International Day will be encouraged to paint a small part of our mural!

KENSHIN TAIKO: 12 noon and 3 p.m.

Kenshin means “Dedicated” in Japanese and Taiko means “drum.” It has often been said that drumming is the heartbeat of Japan. Taiko is a hundreds of years old tradition that is used to celebrate festivals and religious ceremonies and each song that they play has a name and a story behind it. The Japanese Taiko drummers will have a variety of large drums along with 17 drummers to entertain us at this year’s International Day celebration.

Mariachi Zavala: 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Mariachi is a traditional Mexican folk music that originated in the state of Jalisco, and is now loved and respected throughout the world as a piece of Mexican identity.

Gonzalo & Marcos Zavala are one of the most exciting and creative performers and arrangers working today! Their style and musicianship allow for spontaneous and exciting sounds in every project or performance. This family group sets the standard for professionalism and reliability, determined to deliver the very best in mariachi entertainment that only decades of performing as a family can bring!

Malialole Dance: 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Malialole and Island Harmony have a mission to perpetuate Polynesian culture through song and dance while promoting cultural awareness of all Pacific island people. Working in schools and performing in community celebrations across the Wasatch Front, they present traditional and contemporary Polynesian performances from the islands of Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tonga and Samoa.

Swagger: 8-10 p.m.

Swagger has been honing their original brand of Celtic music at festivals and concert halls across the United States since 2007. Well known for their high-energy stage performances and catchy original songs, Swagger’s music is the expected Irish celebration of drink, mischief, and music, which also dares to explore oppression and take an emigrant’s perspective on the virtues and vices of the Irish-American culture.
Swagger has released 3 studio albums, Trouble on the Green (2008), The Grave (2010), and America Land (2013) with a new CD in the works for 2016. They will be accompanied by a group of Irish step dancers who are also from the Park City area!

Tony Corona: Strolling throughout the day

Tony is a Rock Springs native, now living in Colorado, who has been performing at International Day since it was revived in the 90’s. Tony will be performing on the accordion throughout the day.

International Day celebrates the diverse heritage of Rock Springs each July. Known as the “Home of 56 Nationalities,” different cultures are celebrated all day through food, exhibits, costumes and live entertainment. It is the only ethnic festival of its kind in Wyoming.

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL DAY:

International Day started back in the 1920’s, when Rock Springs was recognized to be a very unique town. It was very rare that a community as small as Rock Springs would have a population that was so diverse. To have 56 nationalities in such a small area was unheard of throughout other areas of the Intermountain West. People got together and started International Day as a way of showcasing the large variety of ethnic songs and dances from the different community groups.

People got together and started International Day as a way of showcasing the large variety of ethnic songs and dances from the different community groups.
At that time, the event was held at the Elks Lodge and at the old Rialto Theater. It continued for years until the start of WWII. Due to changing times, the event died out. It started up again for a few years in the 1960’s, and then died out again. It was revived in the 1990’s and was held on B St. and on S. Main St. It has been at its current home in Bunning Park since 2003. Due to its growing success, it is in the 15th year of this recent revival.

Current committee members include Darcy Lyon, Greg Bailey, Cindy Bailey, Tami Christensen, David Tate, Joanne Zotti, Maureen Hitt, Misty Simek, Heidi Yaklich and Chad Banks.

For more information visit DowntownRS.com.