Local families enjoyed exploring different cultures from around the world at the 2015 Somerville World’s Fair that took place at the Center for Arts at the Armory this past Sunday.

By Jason Andrew Park

Under a row of Chinese paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, children and their parents danced to music, engaged in arts and crafts, and participated in various cultural activities from around the world. These families were attending the 2015 Somerville World’s Fair hosted at the Center for Arts at the Armory this past Sunday.

The fair, organized by Cultural Care Au Pair, aimed to expose young children to the world’s many different cultures.

“We are helping families have an experience around the world – through language, songs, and crafts,” said Kerry Lavin, the Local Development Director of Cultural Care Au Pair. Levin adds, “We hope that people really get the chance to embrace a cultural experience in something that is outside their circle.”

Cultural Care Au Pair is a national Au Pair Agency that pairs young adults from around the world with families. The young adults, called au pairs, provide childcare in exchange for a place to live and the opportunity to learn about western culture. The agency recruits from more than 20 countries and aims to provide a culturally and educationally enriched experience for both the host family and the individual au pairs.

According to Lavin, more than 130 people, including children and their parents, attended Sunday’s event.

Families were able to “travel the world” by visiting different booths run by au pairs from Italy, France, Mexico, China, and Germany. Each booth featured different hands-on crafts and storytelling activities.

At Shan “Laura” Huang’s booth, children learned to make Chinese paper lanterns. “We, my host family and I, help each other. I wanted to share with people what I know about my country and I wanted to learn about the western culture,” Huang explained.

Huang, a former teacher from China, said she became an au pair to travel the world and share her experiences with others. Sunday’s fair gave her an opportunity to do so.

The fair, Lavin added, was the company’s way of giving back to the Somerville community where Cultural Care Au Pair have worked for over 25 years.

“We enforce the cultural aspect. We think it’s really important that people embrace that and it’s just not about childcare to us. We really wanted to show what we’re doing to help families,” Lavin said.

— Photos by Jason Andrew Park