A new festival in Longmont will celebrate the people, language and culture of Tibet and the Himalayas this weekend.
On Saturday, the Tibetan and Himalayan Cultural Festival will include a screening of a Bhutanese film, a photo exhibit and Tibetan dancing. The event will be held from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at the Longmont Museum, at 400 Quail Road.
The festival is co-sponsored by the Tibet Himalaya Initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder and by the Longmont Multicultural Action Committee.
Event coordinator Padma Baimacuo said the committee’s promotion of other cultural gatherings, including the Lunar New Year and Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Longmont, inspired her to establish this new festival.
“I love my culture,” Baimacuo said. “Because I’m a Tibetan professor living in Longmont, I want to bring Tibetan culture to the community.”
Baimacuo was born in Tibet. She has a doctorate in religious studies and teaches Tibetan and Chinese languages online. Additionally, Baimacuo is a visiting scholar in CU Boulder’s religious studies department and previously taught at Front Range Community College.
Baimacuo spent roughly two years preparing for Saturday’s event, which she said might be the first time a Tibetan festival has been held in Longmont. She explained that Tibetan culture is characterized by spirituality and deep Buddhist ties.
At 2:15 p.m., there will be a showing of “Honeygiver Among the Dogs,” a film about an undercover detective in remote Bhutan. Audience members can participate in a discussion following the film with Baimacuo and Holly Gayley, an associate professor of Buddhist studies at CU Boulder.
Guests can also enjoy a taste of the Himalayas by trying chai and dumplings, which will be served prior to the screening. After the film, visitors are invited to join a Tibetan circle dance to close out the festival.
While Saturday will be the first iteration of the festival, Baimacuo hopes to continue the celebration in subsequent years and explore even more of the history of Tibet and the Himalayas.
“It’s just one opportunity to know a new culture and to understand each other,” she said.