Global Affair
This year’s World-Fest at Silver Dollar City promises to be the biggest yet, with acts from Beijing, Trinidad, Ireland, Ghana and more. Here’s to traveling the world without leaving the comforts of 417-land.
World-Fest’s coordinator at Silver Dollar City, Rex Burdette, is a global traveler—it’s his job. He’s been putting together the annual World-Fest since its inception 19 years ago, and his duties have brought him to 39 countries to preview and schedule entertainment for the international festival. “I used to travel even more,” says Burdette. “But for the first 10 years, it took a while to develop contacts with people in other countries.”
Burdette remembers trips that took him to 12 countries in three weeks. Now, he can simply put in a phone call to an international talent agent and schedule a world-class act to perform during Silver Dollar City’s three-week international festival. “So many people come out to watch the show and enjoy seeing musical traditions from other countries,” says Burdette.
Win a Worldly WeekendLuck be a website. Silver Dollar City and 417 Magazine are offering the chance to win a two-day pass to World-Fest for a family of four, plus plenty of other goodies: entrance into the Taste of the World festival, V.I.P. seating at the Zheijiang Balancing Monks of China show, two nights at a Branson resort, a dinner cruise aboard the Showboat Branson Belle and a culinary class at Silver Dollar City’s Culinary & Craft School. Click here to enter by April 16. One winner will be chosen at random the next day. |
Burdette’s travels and connections have paid off. This year’s show will be the park’s biggest ever, with four new acts added to the roster of global performers. Burdette is most excited about the Zheijiang Balancing Monks of China, a troupe of two dozen monks who perform acrobatics and head-balancing feats. “They leave you holding your breath the whole time,” says Burdette. “These guys are really dedicated to the art.”
Also new this year will be Dzenbii, a percussion group from Ghana, and Jenny Blackadder, a musician Burdette says is the “queen of banjo in New Zealand.” And after years of trying, Burdette also managed to book a Peruvian dance group called Jallamy.
This year, Silver Dollar City estimates that 175,000 to 200,000 people will come to World-Fest during its April 4 through May 3 run, and more than 100 performers will grace the stage.
Veteran World-Fest performers include the featured act Feet of Fire, an Irish dance troupe that Burdette has worked with to produce and direct. Other returning acts include the Russian Academic Band, Steel Drums of Trinidad and Australian country musician Wayne Horsburgh, who will be celebrating his final performance.
Burdette is confident visitors will be entertained. “When you get down to the bigger picture, it’s about getting to know other people from other parts of the world,” he says. “We can learn how other cultures operate.”
The 411
What: World-Fest
When: April 4 through May 3, Wednesdays through Sundays
Where: Silver Dollar City
More info: 1-800-831-4386,
silverdollarcity.com
