This week, our global citizen Nari Safavi is here to help us plan your international weekend. Nari is the co-founder of Pasfarda Arts and Cultural Exchange.

First up, Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL brings us Resilience: Lessons from Japan. The event explores the resilience the Japanese people showed amidst the natural disasters and nuclear turmoil in the Japan’s recent history. Event-goers will learn about the emotion behind Japanese solidarity through different cult ural and art forms. The event will feature several speakers and there will be demonstration on Japanese flower arranging as well as

a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The event takes place from 4:00-5:30pm.

Next, the Chicago-based chamber music ensemble Eighth Blackbird will be performing music by Swedish composer Fabian Svensson. The collaboraive show, The Music of Less, takes place at the Museum of Contemporary Art this Saturday, March 24, at 7:30pm. The cost is $22 for members, $28 for nonmembers, and $10 for students.

And, University of Chicago’s 47^th annual European Folk Festival is a three-day event at the school’s International House. From 9:00-5:00 on Saturday

and Sunday, attend workshops to learn how to play the saxophone and bagpipes or dance in the traditional Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish styles. The workshop teachers take the floor from 8:00-midnight for a performance. The biggest attraction at the festival happens Saturday night, when participants can put their newfound traditional dancing skills to the test with experts from the workshop. The European Folk Festival is free during the day. Night performances run $10 for students, $20 for adults.

Finally, prepare for Easter in a new culture. The Ukrainian National Museum is hosting a pysanka workshop this Saturday. Pysanka is the traditional Ukrainian

art form of egg painting. At the workshop, participants will learn the difference in meaning between color schemes and symbols as well as the emotional significance in Ukrainian society. Teacher and accomplished psyanka expert Vera Samycia will teach students about how the meaning of these symbols and color schemes vary from region to region in Ukraine. Call ahead to reserve your spot at the workshop. The class is $35 and lasts from 10:00-2:00 at the Ukrainian National Museum.