Pangea Festival Returns to Moorhead With Global Food and Performance
Dozens of ethnic groups will share music, dance, and cuisine at the free event held at Hjemkomst Museum this Saturday.
By Samuel Hayes ·
The Hjemkomst Museum in Moorhead will host the annual Pangea festival this Saturday, bringing together residents from dozens of ethnic backgrounds to celebrate their heritage. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Organizers aim to showcase the growing global diversity of the Fargo-Moorhead region through live performances and culinary offerings.
Participants will present elements of their culture through music, dance, art, and food. Previous festivals have featured a wide range of acts, including the Indigenous Buffalo River Singers and Dancers and the Celtic ensemble Heather & Thistle Pipes & Drums. Other performers have included Scandinavian fiddlers, Middle Eastern belly dancers, Filipino singers, and folk dancers from China and Mexico. This year’s lineup continues the tradition of showcasing varied cultural expressions within the museum’s halls.
The food offerings are a central attraction of the festival. Visitors can sample dishes such as frybread tacos, Danish Æbleskivers, French crepes, Eastern African Sambusa, and Kurdish dolma. Beverages will also be available, including Thai teas. The variety of options reflects the diverse communities that call the Fargo-Moorhead area home.
The festival coincides with several other cultural events scheduled for the week in the region. On Thursday, comedian Derrick Stroup will perform his Running Hot tour at the Fargo Theatre. Stroup, an Alabama native, released his first full-length comedy special in March and previously made a national debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Tickets for his 7 p.m. show range from $44.60 to $116.60.
Storytelling events are also on the schedule. Locals will gather at the Four & Four in Fargo on Thursday night to share personal stories on the theme of hot mess. The 7 p.m. show requires an 18-and-older audience, with cover charges of $15 for adults and $10 for students. Later in the week, the national storytelling show The Moth will return to the Fargo Theatre on Saturday, featuring guests from across the country sharing true tales of their lives. Tickets for that event are priced at $67.10 and $78.10.
The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra will present a Scandinavian-themed Masterworks concert on Saturday and Sunday. The program includes works by Swedish composer Elfrida Andrée, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, Danish composer Poul Ruders, and Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Pianist Lorraine Min will serve as the guest soloist on Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Kedrick Armstrong will conduct the orchestra, stepping in for Music Director Christopher Zimmerman due to a scheduling conflict. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, with tickets ranging from $20 to $65.
Local poets Carol Ratchenski and Thom Tammaro will also take the stage this weekend. They are scheduled to read from their new collections at Nichole’s Next Door Mercantile on Saturday. Ratchenski will discuss and recite works from her book A Place Made of Space, while Tammaro will read from his latest verses, Aurora. This event is free and open to the public.
