CRESTVIEW — After declaring Thursday’s international festival debut a success, school district organizers said the event will return next year.

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The International Festival and Hispanic Heritage Celebration — sponsored by the district's English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL, program, the Friends of the Arts and county school multicultural clubs — was a fiesta for all the senses.

The Shoal River Middle School gym featured musical performances, cultural displays, dance demonstrations and information on cooking plantains.

Countries from the Americas, Europe and Asia were represented by displays featuring photos, cultural artifacts, clothing, examples of money and flags. Some offered food samples.

Many participants and attendees dressed in traditional costumes representing their respective countries.

Musical performers included "Latin American Idol" singer Amid Montelongo and the Boricuando Puerto Rican Folkloric Group.

Attendees enthusiastically clapped along with the music, examined the cultural displays and sampled foods from various countries.

Embracing diversity

"We want everyone to embrace their own heritage and share their heritage with us," ESOL Director Lois Hanzo said as she opened the festival.

"Folk traditions are complicated things," Joe Kenkel said while introducing a Panamanian dance troupe that included his wife, Arabhesky Chacon. "Sometimes, no one knows how they started or where they came from."

Guest speaker Sgt. Randy Galindo, a 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldier whose wife, Blanca, is a Davidson Middle School ESOL teacher, encouraged audience members to broaden their cultural horizons.

"When you embrace diversity, you never know what opportunities are going to pop up," he said, explaining his career became possible because he decided as a boy to study Farsi when his family lived in Iran.

"If you embrace diversity, it probably won't hurt, and it probably will help you," Galindo said.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: First International Festival turns Shoal River gym into a mini-UN (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Billions of leaves blanket the fall landscape, and many homeowners bag them and place them curbside for trash pick-up.

However, many of these leaves could become valuable mulch or compost. So why do they end up in bags to be discarded?

It’s probably because the homeowner is overwhelmed by the volume. For instance, one resident reported raking more than 100 large bags of leaves from his half-acre property. One large oak tree can contain more than 250,000 leaves!

But did you know that homeowners have tools for reducing 100 bags of leaves to just 10?

Shredding and composting can reduce leaf volume by 90 percent and creates a manageable quantity of valuable mulch — and an excellent organic source for composting and converting into rich humus to improve the garden soil.

Shredded leaves stay seated better on the landscape than whole leaves. They also do a better job of holding moisture in the soil, and don't mat down like whole leaves.

But how do you shred leaves if you lack a costly leaf shredder?

All you need is a lawn mower, some extra time and concern for the environment. Just put the leaves on the lawn in rows around 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep.

Then, with the lawn mower at the highest wheel setting, run over the pile. If the mower has a bag attachment, collecting the shredded leaves is a neat and easy task.

Without a bag, the easiest way to collect them is to put a 9-by-12-foot drop cloth parallel to the row of leaves. Then, by running the mower in one direction so the leaves are discharged onto the cloth, cleanup is much easier.

To cut the volume of shredded leaves another 50 percent, throw them in the compost pile.

You'll be amazed by how much the leaves will shrink within a week. Shredded leaves also compost faster than whole leaves.

All you have to do to compost dry leaves is add water, a little garden soil and a cup of garden fertilizer.

Larry Williams is an agent at the Okaloosa County Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Don't trash those fall leaves

CRESTVIEW — On the surface, "Dear Ruth," playing through  Saturday night at Crestview High School, seems a straight-forward 1940s romantic comedy.

But there's much more to playwright Norman Krasma's World War II-era tale, and our young thespians tackle its subtleties with skill.

Particularly admirable are leads Jill Cumbia as Ruth Wilkins, and Wesley Barlow as her U.S. Army Air Corpsman pen pal, Lt. Bill Seawright.

Both handled an especially dramatic Act II scene — I won't spoil the plot — with heartfelt performances that defy their tender stage experiences.

Jill's Ruth is winsome, sympathetic and, like the old song says, "torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool."

As Bill, Wesley reminded me of Josh Hartnett in "Pearl Harbor," his emotions ranging between soaring lovesick optimism and dejection.

"All's fair in love and war, and I'm in both," Bill sighs.

As Albert, the stuffy, put-upon third leg in the romantic triangle, Walter Jagielski earns our respect for a character that often shouts volumes by doing little more than observing helplessly while a flyboy woos his fiancée.

"I have a deposit on a house and a church and a minister," Albert laments. "And I just shook hands with the man who's just become engaged to my fiancée. There's only so much flesh and blood can take."

Fine supporting performances include Megan Keiffer as Ruth's kid sister Miriam, the cause of her  conundrum, and Michael Brooks and Katie Rocha as their parents, staid Judge Harry Wilkins and his stalwart wife Edith.

Angeles Alexander deserves applause as Dora, the patient maid whose frequent asides provide happy doses of comedy.

Jacob Smith, in his stage debut as Bill's B-26 bomber war buddy, Sgt. Chuck Vincent, is personable and likeable as he courts his lieutenant's sister, played prettily by Meagan Prestridge.

There was some distracting shuffling on stage during some scenes, which I wrote off to opening night jitters, and a few lighting and sound glitches.

The latter are good signs: The CHS theatre program conquered two perennial problems with its recent acquisition of a new audio system and a new spotlight. As the techies master their new equipment, I expect the few miscues will vanish.

"Dear Ruth" is a delightful evening of light, fluffy fare, complete with a wedding — maybe two?­ — and is well handled by an enthusiastic cast.

Why not add a fun night of live theatre to your day at the Main Street Crestview Association's Fall Festival?

Want to go?

WHAT: Norman Krasma's romantic comedy "Dear Ruth"

WHO: Crestview High School drama program and Thespian troupe

WHEN: 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday

WHERE: Crestview High School Pearl Tyner Auditorium

TICKETS: $5, all seats, available at the door

Contact News Bulletin Arts & Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: REVIEW: 'Dear Ruth' satisfies with humor, romantic triangle and twists