Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
From fire dancers to Indigenous drum circles, the World Beat Festival was a feast for the senses all weekend at Salem’s Riverfront Park.
Salem ensembles took to stages around the park alongside performers from across Oregon, bringing visitors traditional dances from Samoa, Mexico and other corners of the globe.
Filipino ensembles featured prominently as the 2023 festival had a theme for the first time since Covid, highlighting the culture and history of the Philippines and the Filipino community in Oregon.
A participant in the Children’s Parade at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant in the Children’s Parade at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Participants in the Children’s Parade at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Participants in the Children’s Parade at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The youngest Casa de Cultura Tlanese dancers perform on stage at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The youngest Casa de Cultura Tlanese dancers perform on stage at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The youngest Casa de Cultura Tlanese dancers perform on stage at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Willamette Valley Pipes and Drums takes the stage at the at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Deepika Llango demonstrates a dance honoring Shiva at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Children do crafts at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from the Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity Incorporated demonstrates a local dance from the Philippines at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from the Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity Incorporated demonstrates a local dance from the Philippines at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from the Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity Incorporated demonstrate local dances from the Philippines at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from the Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity Incorporated demonstrate local dances from the Philippines at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from the Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity Incorporated demonstrate a wedding dance from the Philippines where guests pin money on the bride and groom at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The blowing of the conch heralds the beginning of the dancing for Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)This year’s Samoan princess appears with Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from Salem’s Paradise of Samoa dance troupe at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers at the World Beat Festival on June 24, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Filipina dancer gets ready for the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)One of the performers in the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The Filipino dance troupe on stage during the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from the Salem Community Belly Dancers prepare to enter the stage for the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from Nupuram demonstrates their balancing ability at the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers in the Filipino dance troupe form a conga line at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Nupuram lights up the night first at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Nupuram lights up the night first at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Dancers in the Filipino dance troupe do the lambada with the crowd at the festival finale Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Thermogenesis lights up the stage during the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Thermogenesis lights up the stage during the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Paradise of Samoa fire dancers prepare to take the stage at the festival finale during the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Paradise of Samoa fire dancers on stage at the festival finale during the festival finale at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Paradise of Samoa fire dancers on stage with their trademark fire hulas at the festival finale during the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Paradise of Samoa fire dancer on stage at the festival finale during the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Paradise of Samoa fire dancer on stage at the festival finale during the World Beat Festival at Riverfront Park on June 24, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected].
SUPPORT OUR WORK – We depend on subscribers for resources to report on Salem with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Subscribe today to get our daily newsletters and more. Click I want to subscribe!
Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
