As the weather warms up, so do the events throughout Fort Wayne. 

Among those events is Three Rivers Art Center for Kids’ annual international celebration RiverDrums on Tuesday, June 4, at Promenade Park. 

Thinking for yourself

Speaking with founder and director Terry Doran, he mentioned he has always been an advocate for thinking for yourself. 

The former high school teacher opened Fort Wayne Folk School, which lead to the creation of the women’s studies program at Purdue University Fort Wayne. 

Doran loves celebrating history, culture, and of course, Fort Wayne. He started RiverDrums after his first show, The Legacy of Anthony Wayne. At this show he had one of the guests perform dances honoring her Miami heritage. 

“It was beautiful, and people told me how much they learned and liked (the show),” Doran said. “I decided to add different cultures and that’s how it started to honor different cultures and our rivers. I wanted to show through art that we are all members of the human family.”

Opening Ceremony

This year’s festival will kick off at 4:20 p.m. with a tribute to late Mayor Tom Henry, who was big supporter of RiverDrums.

“Come to hear about how Mayor Henry honored the Miss Virginia Food Pantry that has now grown to provide food for hundreds of citizens a week,” Doran said. “The story of the mayor and Jacque the French fur trader will be told, as well as Mayor Henry’s proclamation of Sept. 14, 2020, as RiverDrums Day in the city of Fort Wayne.” 

“After this Katherine (Fobear, associate professor of women’s studies at California State University, Fresno) will read her essay, ‘Fear of Free Thought in the Land of the Free’ which is about my path to creating RiverDrums.”

Celebration for all

RiverDrums will have multiple performances of dancing from all around the world, music, drumming, vendors, a silent auction, history lessons, and an art project. 

“It gives different cultures a chance to learn from each other through art, the universal language of humanity,” Doran said of RiverDrums. “We also provide insight and awareness through our opening ceremony.” 

So if it’s your first time checking out the festival, what can you expect?

“Have a look at those little kids dancing up a storm, how they feel free to express themselves! RiverDrums is inclusive, for everyone, all ages, all backgrounds,” Doran said. “It’s a long event, over five hours, but structured in a way you can come for one performer or all.

“We want you to feel appreciated. Rev. Bill McGill said it best: ‘I had to be here to give individuals some sense of calm, if you will, that this can act as a community bond that moves us toward harmony, toward unity and celebrating diversity.’ ” 

Plenty to enjoy

Following the opening ceremony, the performances begin with the Amaneceres de Mexico Dancers at 5:35 p.m., followed by Basche Martial Arts, Ginger Karns, Peacock Burmese Dancers, Victor and Kathleen Chaney, Miami Indian musician Pimyotamah Hartleroad, Soarin’ Hawk Rehabilitation, Trevor Hunt, Fort Wayne Dance Collective, Adam Riviere with Soraya, and Pyroscope.

This event is built to bring the community separated by cultural differences all under one sky and unified through their own forms of artistic expressions.

For Doran, there’s plenty he is looking forward to.

“Katherine Fobear (who was postdoctoral fellow at PFW) because of my personal connection with her, my tributes to Mayor Henry and health-care workers for all they did to help me,” he said. 

“As far as performers, I’m in awe of all of them. Their artistry, their compassion, their dedication, they are the heart and soul of RiverDrums.”