Festival scavenger hunt, great success!

This is a guest post from Margie Merod, Assistant Director, The Lebanese in North Carolina Project.

Saturday, August 2nd saw a great turnout at the Cedars in the Pines festival hosted by the Triangle Lebanese Association (TLA)  and the Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies. Lebanese-Americans, tourists, and Raleighites flocked to the NC Museum of History to enjoy Lebanese food, and dance performances. Children had their fortunes read, played backgammon, made bracelets, and learned to translate their names into Arabic. Click images below to enlarge!

Of course many people visited the Cedars in the Pines exhibit. Children could complete exhibit scavenger hunts, performing tasks like listing food displayed in the kitchen and describing how Lebanese silk was made. If they got all the answers, they got a special bookmark and a stamped souvenir passport to celebrate their accomplishment.

Some visitors to the gallery saw the exhibit for the first time, while others were on their second or third trip. The El-Khouri sisters, originally from Andrews, North Carolina, gathered at the festival with their children to share the exhibit experience together. Their father, Joe, is highlighted in the “Business” and “Community Services” portions, while his prayer book and home movies are on display (you can see the home movies on our YouTube channel). The sisters had a wonderful time reliving  childhood memories and learning about their heritage. They stayed in the gallery until forced to leave at closing! Marsha El-Khouri Shiver stated, “we do all feel very proud of our heritage and thus all of what you accomplished in the special project.” Like so many Lebanese-North Carolinians, the exhibit and associated activities touched their hearts.