Tibetan traditions take center stage

Seattle's TibetFest is growing.

There was a time when "accidental" visitors would drop by.

But most of today's visitors come specifically for TibetFest, said Gillian Teichert, between selling items in Seattle Center House for Seattle's Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the years, the event has become so large that food vendors have had to move outside. And the festival now attracts national talent.

Thousands made their way to Center House and Fisher Pavilion over the weekend for the event, organized to promote Tibetan traditions through visual and performing arts, a marketplace, a film series, children's crafts and cooking demonstrations.

Susan McCutcheon of San Antonio, Texas, held "The Dalai Lama's Book of Awakening" in her hand as she waited for Teichert to finish with another customer.

"I'm here for enlightenment and growth and education," McCutcheon said, adding that she came with a friend from Texas who is a Buddhist Christian.

Inside Center House, the pair found a colorful bazaar overflowing with a rainbow of textile products, photos of the Dalai Lama, images of gods and goddesses and stacks of "Free Tibet" bumper stickers, a reference to the fact that China governs Tibet, though many consider Tibet a sovereign nation.

The smell of sandalwood incense drifted across the floor.

TibetFest serves several purposes, said Tashi Khamshitsang, president of the Tibetan Association of Washington, which organizes the event. It allows local Tibetans to gather, teaches the younger generation what it means to be Tibetan and raises public awareness about Tibet and its political woes.

There are about 300 Tibetans in Seattle, Khamshitsang said.

Khamshitsang was 7 or 8 when he escaped with neighbors from his nomadic village near the town of Gapa, Tibet, leaving his parents and two younger siblings behind. The young boy journeyed by land to Nepal, then to India, where he attended a school established by the Dalai Lama.

The festival is very important, said Khamshitsang.

"The very existence of the Tibetan people is at stake because Tibet is under the occupation of the People's Republic of China," said Khamshitsang. "And the Tibetans in Tibet do not enjoy the freedom to promote and preserve their own cultural tradition."

Judy Chia Hui Hsu: 206-464-3315 or jhsu@seattletimes.com