MEMBERS OF GULUN, a dance group from Siberia, nearly missed their flight to the U.S. because of visa issues.
Courtesy photo
Hundreds of performers from all around the world stream into Davis County for Summerfest International in mid-August every year, but visa troubles can keep performers from making the trip. When that happened with a group from Siberia scheduled to perform at this year’s festival, Senator Orrin Hatch stepped in.
“It looked like Siberia wasn’t going to make it, but then the senator made a direct call and expedited their visa appointment for us,” said Summerfest Coordinator Joshua Blackwelder. “It came through literally the day before they were supposed to fly out. There were a lot of late night calls to the Moscow embassy.”
Performing groups from all five continents are scheduled to perform at this year’s Summerfest, which is organized by the Bountiful/Davis Art Center. This year’s groups come from countries including Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Indonesia, India, Siberia, and Sierra Leone.
“It’s been a very diverse year as far as international performers go,” said Blackwelder. “It’s very exciting.”
For more information check out the August 2 edition of Davis Clipper.
Post a Comment
