Global Festival 20th Anniversary
Ten Thousand Villages in Downtown Overland Park makes fair trade come alive for Kansas City by creating a marketplace for global artisans.
Virtual Event
Please join us to celebrate our 20th anniversary by meeting some of our favorite artisan groups from around the world and those in our city who bring the inspirations from the world to our doorstep. Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park is a locally operated 501(c)(3) fair trade retailer. All donations, including the $20 ticket price, are tax-deductible. This will be a live and recorded virtual experience you will not forget. We will connect you to artisans from countries around the world.
Prior to the event, registered attendees will receive login information for the virtual festival. This unique login will allow you to interact during the event from anywhere and fully experience this joyful celebration of global artisans.
Meet the Artisan Partners
You will get to meet a representative from each artisan group during program. At the conclusion of the live event, tour the story map to learn more from these artisans and our volunteers.
Rug Raffle
Art comes in many forms and when it comes to fair trade heirloom rugs, this artwork lasts a lifetime and preserves the rich cultural heritage of rug-making. Once you have one Bunyaad rug in your home, you will soon be looking for a spot to place the next one.
Buy a $10 raffle ticket to win $2500 towards the purchase of Bunyaad rugs by visiting or contacting Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park at (913) 642-8368 and overlandpark@tenthousandvillages.com. Act now to buy your raffle tickets, as all tickets must be purchased by 12pm CDT on Friday, June 26, 2020. The winner will be drawn Friday afternoon and recognized at the Global Festival on Saturday morning, June 27th.
Gordon Zook serves as Chief Executive Officer of Ten Thousand Villages since 2019 after several years serving as Co-Country Director for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Bangladesh and Haiti, and most recently as Co-Country Director for MCC in India. In that time, he cultivated connections with fair trade artisan groups and served on the Ten Thousand Villages Board of Directors. Gordon holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to his CEO position.
Doug Lapp serves as Director of Artisan Relations/Purchasing Manager since 2018. He began his career at Ten Thousand Villages in 2001 as a Buyer working directly with artisans who he still serves today.
Karen joined the Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park family first as a shopper looking for ethically-produced goods and then more formally, as Volunteer Coordinator in 2010 before assuming the role of Executive Director in 2019.
Kendra Frink has served as a Regional Sales Manager for Ten Thousand Villages US since August 2019. Her passion for fair trade started in college as she studied anthropology at Kansas State University and during her graduate program, traveled to Ghana to work with Global Mamas, a fair trade cooperative. Seeing the impact of fair trade first-hand inspired Kendra to become an advocate for life. In 2010, she became the Executive Director of the Overland Park Ten Thousand Villages store where she had the pleasure of serving until assuming her current position.