Reflection on 'Kultur Natten', Uppsala 11/9/10, Week 3 Post 1

On Saturday, September 11, the city of Uppsala hosted a Culture Night for the community to enjoy. There were events going on all throughout the day hosted by many cafes and businesses in the city. I spent the day mingling around the event and questioned many times why a city such as Uppsala finds it important to host events like this for its people. First and foremost, I saw this event as an opportunity for Uppsala to boost its business! By inviting the public into dance schools, yoga classes, kickboxing demonstrations, and cafe samplings, Uppsala is strategically tellings its people that they should get involved, utilize the resources around them, and take some action. A certain atmosphere of Uppsala pride was among the event, the way the town was booming with excitement. I left with great feelings about the town I had chosen to study in and couldn't have felt better about all of the great things it had to offer for not only students but families, too. Uppsala also stressed an importance of the 'culture' theme during the event. With the small cafe's switching up their menus to fit different geographical areas of the world and inviting DJs to play ethnic music, it seemed everyone was trying something new. Perhaps the town wants to situate itself on the edge when it comes to acceptance of outsiders and embracing other cultures. It did seem quite odd to see a presence of such different cultures among a uniform crowd of very European individuals, but many seemed to be letting loose and enjoying the Samba dances, Cuban food, etc. I can really see a parallel here with this event and the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 that I spent time studying last semester because of the local showcasing that was going on. By showing itself to both its locals and visitors, Uppsala made a statement about what it stands for, where it is headed, and what it has to offer.