A Whole World Celebration Comes to Boston's Pier Five

Boston's annual International Fair, known to many New England residents as THE WHOLE WORLD CELEBRATION, returns to Bean Town November 7 to 11. The 5-day spectacular will be held at Commonwealth Pier Exhibition Hall (Pier 5) on Boston Harbor.

According to William C. Allison of Wellesley Hills, general chairman, the Fair will attract 50,000 exhibitors, performers and spectators from eight states.

From the moment of arrival to departure, the spectator at this year's Fair is promised a happy, educational and memorable experience. 25 acres of parking adjacent to the exhibition hall will accomodate cars and buses. Those favoring public transportation will be shuttled free of charge to and from Commonwealth Pier upon reaching the Aquarium Station on the MBTA Blue Line.

Once inside the hall, a world of international sights and sounds unfolds. 26 nationality and ethnic groups will perform on a giant stage throughout the five days. Included are Armenian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slavic, Spanish, Swedish and Ukrainian folk dance troupes from Boston, Cambridge and surrounding communities.

In addition, African song and dance ensembles, Scottish Highland dancers and drummers and American Indian, English Country, Middle Eastern, Irish step and figure, and American square dancers will perform. Several groups will teach their dances to the audience in addition to performing.

An entertainment first for Boston and the Fair is appearance of members of the Performing Arts Foundation of New York City. This talented group of young professional artists will present a series of one hour performances of international song and dance. Another highlight will be performances by La Meri's Ethnic Dance Group of Cape Cod. An international folk orchestra on Friday, a Bavarian orchestra on Saturday, and a Hofbrau band and Steel Band on Sunday will provide music for dancing in a specially designed garden featuring international wines.

Making his first appearance in the northeast is a "Klompenmaker" or crafter of Dutch wooden shoes from Wisconsin who will demonstrate how such shoes are made in the traditional manner with crude hand tools.

The range of interests in other cultural booths includes glass blowing, candlemaking, Chinese traditional painting, silk screening, crafting of handmade sterling silver jewelry and making of Dutch eggshell ornaments. Booths which will offer the added excitement of providing audience participation include Ukrainian egg decorating where children and adults can decorate hard boiled eggs under the direction of a skilled craftsman, chess tournaments, Japanese origami and Polish paper cutting.

The range of foods from many lands to be sampled includes Indonensian "satay" (beef tidbits on bamboo skewers), Polish "golabki" (stuffed cabbage), German potato salad and American barbecued ribs. Others include Armenian, Bengali, Chinese, Egyptian, French, Greek, Hawaiian, Indian, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish, Turkish and Ukrainian dishes. For those with a sweet tooth there will be many pastries and an international candy booth.

A special area occupied by the Children's Zoomobile will give continuous lectures on ecology, the environment and animal survival around the world.

THE WHOLE WORLD CELEBRATION is structured to accommodate school groups on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings (Nov. 7, 8 & 9) from 10 AM to 2 PM. During these hours activity is oriented towards the involvement and participation of young people who will come from schools across Massachusetts and surrounding states. The general public is welcome between 2 and 11 PM Friday, 10 AM and 11 PM Saturday, and from noon to 10 PM on Sunday.