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Hoping for a better future

This year's Dream Parade will march down Taipei's Renai Road, beginning tomorrow at 2pm. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF DREAM COMMUNITY

The Dream Community Culture and Education Development Foundation's (夢想社區) annual carnival (夢想嘉年華) starts tomorrow at 3pm. The parade, which is usually held on the streets of Sijhih (汐止), has moved to Taipei City, and will set off from Xingan Elementary School (幸安國小) on Renai Road, finishing with performances and a pageant at the Presidential Office on Chongqing South Road at 6:30pm.

In preparation for the event, 20 international artists from nine countries were invited to hold a series of workshops for the anticipated 10,000 participants, which would be triple last year's.

Organized by the Dream Center, a community-based arts organization located in Sijhih and funded partly by the local government and businesses, the theme for this year's parade is hope.

"Hope for a better future and hope for the environment," said Ann Ho (何英琪), the artistic director of this year's carnival.

Ho said moving the parade to downtown Taipei will enable more people to view and participate in the carnival and increase cultural awareness. "People in Taiwan [have little] awareness of art and culture and the ability [to be] creative," she said.

Carnival notes: What: The sixth annual Dream Parade (夢想嘉年華) When and Where: The parade sets off from Xingan Elementary School (幸安國小), 22, Renai Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市仁愛路三段22號) at 3pm, moving along Renai Road to the Presidential Office at Chongqing South Road, where the pageant is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm For more information: Call (02) 2695-9393 or visit www.dreamcommunity.org.tw

In Aboriginal communities, Ho said, creativity is more prevalent yet indigenous peoples haven't been adequately represented in previous parades.

Ho and her team have worked with different tribes throughout the island since the beginning of the year to increase their presence at the parade. Ho said this year 1,500 Aboriginal students plan to participate in the parade where "they will combine artistic styles drawn from their traditional cultures with some of the artistic skills they learned in workshops."
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