Dash Around the World Culture Festival

Dash Around the World is a one-day culture festival on the Fort Morgan campus of Morgan Community College, at 920 Barlow Road. The college calls the 2026 festival its 4th Annual Culture Festival. It is set for Saturday, October 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., as an afternoon “celebrating cultures, traditions, food, music, and community.” Admission is free, and the announcement says everyone is welcome. The program centers on a performance by local Folklorico dancers. Local vendors sell international food. For children there are interactive activities, games, a bounce house, and face painting.

The campus is the main seat of a college that serves most of northeastern Colorado, some 11,500 square miles, with centers in Bennett, Burlington, Limon, and Wray. The Fort Morgan campus serves the schools and towns of Morgan County: Brush, Fort Morgan, Wiggins, and Weldona.

Lion dance and liquid nitrogen

The fullest account of the festival comes from Robin Northrup of the Fort Morgan Times, who reported on the edition held Saturday, March 23, 2024. Rooms along the campus hallways each held an activity:

• henna art
• face painting and coloring
• STEM activities
• piñatas and papel picado
• dancing
• a bounce house
• a welcome station

Children carried a passport from room to room and got a stamp at each stop. Tickets were handed out for the food served through the day, which came in three options. Ice cream was made with liquid nitrogen.

Two troupes performed. The Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center, a multi-generational troupe from Denver, performed a traditional Lion Dance. The local Folklorico dancers, also of all ages and led by Delores DelCampo, performed several traditional Mexican dances. Afterward they took a break and ate from one of the three food options.

A committee called ACCESS

The festival was organized by ACCESS, short for Advancing a College Culture of Equity for Student Success. The Times describes ACCESS as a committee dedicated to fostering success and equity, and says the festival was meant to bring MCC students and the community together. Dr. Christiane Olivo, Dean of General Education & Health Sciences, told the paper how uncertain the 2024 effort had been:

“We had no idea how the turnout would be. We were behind on marketing, but we worked with One Morgan County, and they gave us financial support for the entertainment. The Family Center played a support role in the event, and we had the fliers translated into two different languages. We were hoping for a good turnout and the weather was beautiful.”

Twenty volunteers from the campus, One Morgan County, and the Family Center worked that day. Olivo estimated attendance at 150 to 200 people, more than the organizers had expected, and said they planned to hold the event again the next year.

The 2024 festival was held in late March, and the 2026 festival is set for October. The 2024 fliers were translated into two languages. The 2026 notice on the college’s website appears in three: English, Spanish, and Somali. The Somali version promises a Folklorico performance, international food from local vendors, and a guri boodbood, or bounce house.