This year’s Festival of Faiths is underway in Louisville and it’s exploring the subject of water. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer has more.Now in its 14th year, the festival features exhibits, lectures and art that link diverse faiths and community-based organizations under themes. The title of this year’s festival is “Sacred Water: Sustaining Life.”Mark Steiner is the festival’s director of programming."We’ll explore water from both faith traditions’ perspectives as well as the various not-for-profit organizations that are out there dealing with the issues surrounding water," Steiner says. "Water rights, water pollution — it’s the global issue that’s emerging right now. As well as being significant to life on planet Earth, it also has great significance in faith traditions and in spirituality."The annual festival has brought in leading scholars of faith as well as environmental and civil rights activists. Among this year's many invited guests are 13 grandmothers who since 2004 have traveled the world.
Steiner says the grandmothers are from the Americas, Africa and Asia."They represent indigenous wisdom from across the globe," he says. "And they are 13 women who were called together to speak out about the way the planet’s being treated and for generations to come."A documentary about the women will be shown Sunday at the Kentucky Center. The festival continues through Nov. 13 with lectures throughout the city and more than 60 exhibits and displays at downtown Louisville’s Henry Clay Building. Dozens of local houses of workshop are also participating.
