Anyone can visit the Virtual Bowling Green International Festival presented by Vid Monster Productions from their home by going to BGInternationalFest.com on September 26, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. And, it’s FREE! Links on the homepage will direct visitors to various areas including those featuring virtual cultural displays, merchandise and food booths. People who have never been to the Festival will be able to see what it’s about. So, we are eager to find participants to help us commemorate 30 years of celebrating cultural diversity!

Who can host a booth?

Anyone! The only requirement for a booth is that it represent a foreign culture. Booths at BGIF are hosted by individuals, nonprofits and businesses. They may be hosted by natives of the country/culture represented or they may be hosted by people who choose a country because it is where their ancestors were born or just because they find it interesting and want to share what they’ve learned about it with others. Ideally, as many as possible of the cultures represented in our community will be included. Consider sharing your cultural heritage!

How does one create a virtual booth?

A booth can be as simple or as complex as your imagination allows! It might cover a wide range of information about a culture or someone might choose to create multiple booths each with a very specific focus. A booth might be a group of photographs with a description or it might include a video presentation. If you record video, you don’t have to know how to edit it! You can submit your raw clips and our partner, Vid Monster Productions will create a finished video for you at no charge!

The host does not have to be present during the event. Once you submit your materials, your job is done. But, if you would like to interact with visitors you can choose a time to be available for live chat.

Examples of virtual booths might include:

• A video demonstrating how to make a traditional dish.
• A group of photographs showing cultural items such as food, clothing, toys etc with a description.
• A video of people singing a traditional song associated with a holiday and photographs of rituals, objects, clothing, food or other things associated with the occasion.
• Directions either through photographs or a video for creating a traditional craft or playing a traditional game.
• Create a fashion show either by using photographs of people dressed in traditional clothing or submitting clips by several people who filmed themselves modeling traditional clothing. Vid Monster can assemble each person’s clip into a single video for you!

These are just a few simple things you could do. You can create as many displays as you wish to represent your culture! If you have hosted a booth at the in-person Festival, think of what you had and how you might show it digitally.

How can I be included?

Fill out the application at BGInternationalFest.com/vf/host-booth to be considered. Fill it out as soon as possible, as time is running out! You will NOT need to have everything ready for the application. It is just to report your intention to create a booth(s). Once you are ready there are submission forms for different types of booths.

Are there other ways to participate?

The Virtual Festival will include a variety of options in addition to booths. We are looking for participants to perform, submit recipes, submit artwork and more. Visit BGInternationalFest.com for more information.