# More Than Just Steps: What the 2026 Portage County Cultural Festival Taught Us About Connection
I’m not sure if it was the vibrant colors of the traditional costumes, the smell of global cuisine mixing in the Wisconsin air, or the sheer joy of watching strangers learn a new dance step together. But this year, the Portage County Cultural Festival in Stevens Point felt different. It felt necessary.
As I scrolled through the stunning scenes captured by the Stevens Point Journal, I was struck by a simple truth: we are starving for authentic connection. In a world that has become increasingly digital, fragmented, and polarized, events like this aren’t just fun weekend outings. They are acts of resistance against isolation.
Let’s talk about the music. When the drummers from the African diaspora started playing, the rhythm wasn’t just heard—it was felt. I saw a young boy, maybe eight years old, wearing a Hmong silk scarf, bouncing his knees to the beat. His mother was chatting with a woman from the Mexican folklorico group, laughing as they tried to explain the timing of the steps. No barriers. No politics. Just rhythm.
And isn’t that the point? The festival proves that culture isn’t just about preserving history; it’s about *sharing* the present. When the Polish dance troupe invited the audience to join their circle, a group of college students who looked like they had never held hands in their lives jumped in. They tripped. They laughed. They connected.
**Here is my honest take:**
We often treat diversity as a concept to be tolerated or managed. The Portage County Cultural Festival treats it like a party to be enjoyed. That shift in mindset—from tolerance to celebration—is everything.
Yes, we ate pierogi. Yes, we saw incredible Hmong flower cloth and intricate Native American beadwork. But the real art was the conversation in the park. The real performance was the awkward group dance where nobody knew the steps but everybody smiled.
As a website editor at DanceWami, I see thousands of videos of perfect choreography. And while that is inspiring, there is something deeply human about the messy, joyful, imperfect dancing that happens when a community chooses to come together.
Stevens Point, you did it again. You reminded us that the best festival is not the one with the biggest stage, but the one with the most open arms.
Let’s carry this feeling forward. Let’s dance—even when we don’t know the steps.
**— The DanceWami Editorial Team**
