Ethnic Festival – Is this Racism?

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a friend shared on facebook about a festival he is attending to, it's called "ethno-festival" butter, i clicked on the website and the description says

"Sviests (butter) – is a pure product, the best one can get from milk. In this time of margarine we invite to realise and return to values that have stood the test of time. Real values that we can enjoy and be proud of. It takes hard and accurate work to churn butter from milk and cream, to reach the stage when the unnecessary is separated and only the most valuable stays. This is what the music groups in SVIESTS do – they explore and research the ancient traditional music and churn, churn until the very essence appears and the nowadays topical and unheard appears.".

Is this low-key racist or am I reading too much? I feel quite uncomfortable with it. I don't like the comparison of their ethnic culture as something pure and good quality in contrary of some mainstream mixed "margarine". I'm very sad because this guy is my only friend and I isn't the first time I feel uncomfortable with him on something race/ethinc related, but I tend to ignore because we came from very different contexts in this aspects, once when I visited him, he took me to a concert where there was some nationalist songs and everyone sound so emotional it felt weird... but now I'm wondering if I'm just reading too much into thinking this is racist?

I find they are celebrating their culture, to be honest.

I don't find it racist.

If these folks start denigrating other cultures and races-----then it becomes racist, etc.

but isn't the butter/margarina comparision exactly a way to compare to other cultures?

They feel pride in how they make their butter. Maybe they think they make butter better than other cultures.

Some cultures make beef stew better than other cultures; but those other cultures might make oyster stew better.

It doesn't matter to me. It's a sort of "ethnic pride." But as long as they don't denigrate other cultures as far as their character is concerned (I don't care if their butter is better than mine), I don't see that much wrong with taking pride in their butter.

What should happen: Different cultures should have a sort of "butter bakeoff," with judges and all that.

It's inevitable that cultures will compare themselves to other cultures.

If we don't have other cultures, we become boring, homogenized, etc.

It's a more interesting world when cultures are able to "compare themselves" to each other.

Also: this thing about "cultural appropriation." Sheer garbage! Cultures "appropriate" from other cultures all the time. So what if a European wants to acquire a rasta hairstyle?

It may be a slight touch of being elitist. More in terms of the cuisine of their culture perhaps or food snobbery.

Anyway, I'm not sure this Cultural event is exclusionary? Probably anyone can show up for sample or buy this super butter from vendors?

Is this friend even a part of this ethnic group?

i feel very weird about it coming from a very mixed place, and nobody here seems much concerned about our national culture or anything like this. for this friend, is very different. his country is very homogenous people and they have a long history on being occupied by russia, so i kind of can understand this nationalism feeling and this search/valuing for some national identity... but i can't help to feel a bit weird and uncomfortable about it. in this concert we went i mentioned, i felt very odd because it was like a party i wasn't invited, he sometimes said very negative things about russians or muslims. he also doesn't have the best opinion on homeless people, he even once said they are mostly scammers from romania or other country. i sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable, but he is a good person to me but it's all a different universe and point of view. i know he really likes those folk music and folk metal and folk things in general, but i got a bit annoyed by this festival description.

If you want to learn about other cultures, you show up.

If they try to exclude you, then there's a problem.

Why should anybody prevent a culture from celebrating itself?

Many places happen to have very homogenized populations. It's just the way it is.

Japan is about 99% or so Japanese.

I bet it is. Racists see things irrationaly in ethnicities, which is why so many of the so-called antiracists today are really racists themselves.

In essence, I find this a "mountain over molehills" sort of situation.

Only if they exclude others....does the festival become "racist" or whatever.

Of if the participants start raising Nazi flags or something.....