For the past two years, team Cameroon has reigned as champion of the Mayor's Cup and of the Baltimore International Festival's International Soccer Tournament, and this year, the team is fully prepared to defend its title.
Fifteen other teams, representing various countries around the world, including Italy, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Korea and Ethiopia, are also vying for the title and are ready to dethrone the reigning champs.
For the past four years, soccer teams from the Baltimore area's diverse communities have come together for a two-day soccer tournament that is a part of the International Festival, a yearly celebration of the cultural diversity that aims to improve inter-group relations.
This year marks the 11th year of the festival, which is being held Saturday and Sunday at the Poly/Western High School Complex.
"The Baltimore International Festival was organized 11 years ago to bring together the diverse cultures which are present here in the area, to celebrate those things we have in common and hopefully to tear down some of the barriers which have traditionally kept us apart," said Alvin O. Gillard, director of the Baltimore Community Relations Commission, and chairman of the International Festival.
Over the past 11 years, this festival has grown from a function for city employees to an interactive and educational event with close to 10,000 people expected to attend each day, according to Thomas Saunders, supervisor of the Community Education Division of the Baltimore Community Relations Commission who has worked on the festival for all 11 years.
With the addition of the soccer tournament four years ago, the festival took on a more international feel, Saunders said.
"Soccer is a universal sport; in fact, it is the international sport," Saunders said. "This makes our festival unique because we are incorporating such an international element. It also gives everyone an opportunity to mingle. We are all Americans, and the soccer tournament provides a common ground for everyone to really unite."
The festival will kick off this year at noon Saturday with its Olympic-style opening ceremony, where the soccer tournament teams, along with representatives from various other nations, will march into the stadium in a grand procession.
This festival will also feature three stages of entertainment. The Main Stage will host performances by artists including R&B; singer Jeffrey Osborne, who will perform Saturday evening, and jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey, who will perform Sunday evening. Other performers include local jazz/funk band Fertile Ground and jazz artist Sherry Wilson Butler.
The Cultural Stage will feature river dancers, an Argentine tango performance from La Tangueria, a local tango dance club from the Johns Hopkins University, Nigerian dancers and musicians, a Korean martial arts demonstration, Korean fan dancers, Chinese dragon dancers, Egyptian belly dancers and more.
The One Beat Stage will have a circle set up with more than 20 drums and, every hour on the hour, festival attendees will be invited to sit at the drums and participate in making music.
"The instructor will give every person a beat and will show how all individual beats can be brought together," Saunders said. "The One Beat Stage is very symbolic because it shows that every person, regardless of their cultural background, has their own beat but that, in the end, all the beats can come together to make beautiful music."
Also featured at this two-day festival will be an international fashion show presented by Baltimore designer Travis Winkey and a variety of international food.
"Our hope is that this festival will become a signature event for Baltimore because it celebrates all of Baltimore," Saunders said. "With a city known for its diverse culture, this festival is a way for all of us to come together, unite and really learn from each other."
dana.kinker@baltsun.com
The Baltimore International Festival is noon-9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and the International Soccer Tournament is 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Poly/Western High School Complex, 4600 Falls Road. The tournament's championship game is at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call 410-396-3141 for more information.