In 2022, we celebrated our 5th year as the Ridgefield Multicultural Festival and introduced the "Keeper of the Culture" award. The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding people in the community who are doing the difficult work of keeping cultural practices alive. Our 2022 awardee was Anna Brackney Cruz, Director of Operations for the Vancouver Ballet Folklorico.  Señora Cruz is the founder of the Tepeyac Pre-Hispanic dance group and has partnered with many Clark County organizations to create Dia de los Muertos celebrations and Arte en el Parque which prioritizes communities that lack spaces of art for all ages and talent. 

The oil painting that was presented to Señora Cruz is by the artist Stephen Hayes. Many thanks to Mr. Hayes, Red Truck Farm and the Morgwaite Family for sponsoring this award. 

In 2023, we presented the award to Yumi Torimaru. Yumi is a tireless advocate for preserving Japanese music and cultural traditions in the Pacific Northwest. She founded Takohachi in 2007 as a nonprofit to preserve traditional Japanese music and dance. She became an apprentice of the shamisen master Ryuhiro Oyama in 2016 and received a 'natori' certificate from one of Japan's biggest Tsugaru Shamisen Organizations, 'Oyama Kai', in 2019. 

Sam Robinson, Vice Chair of the Chinook Indian Nation is our 2024 awardee. The Chinook Indian Nation has been an integral part of this land and the culture of the area for over 10,000 years. However, they are still not a federally recognized tribe. Go to chinooknation.org to find out how to support the efforts for federal recognition whether it is with a donation or signing a petition or both! Sam is passionate about sharing the Chinook ways with the next generations. He is ever-present in the community, generous with his time to our schools, to the Friends of the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, on which he is on the board, and to multicultural gatherings like this. Sam is a local in every meaning of the word. His ancestors signed the Anson Dart treaty and he went to high school in La Center. He is a carver, drummer, and canoer. He is an army veteran and, like his ancestors, is a renowned Chinook Nation leader.