On Aug. 27, Blackburn College took a group of students to attend the Festival of Nations in St. Louis, Missouri. After a week of welcoming the new students to the college, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, along with the Office of Student Engagement, attended the Festival of Nations. This event gave students the opportunity to experience the region’s largest multicultural event of the year.
The International Institute of St. Louis held the two-day festival in Tower Grove Park on the south side of St. Louis. Over 40 different nations from five different continents were represented at the festival. There were food booths where attendees could experience a taste of the different cultures from around the world. There was also a World Bazaar that had 34 booths from around the world where attendees could shop for some unique gifts from the different countries.
If shopping and food was not enough, visitors had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of entertainment. In an email about the festival, Director of Diversity, Student Success and Inclusion Eda Watts stated, “I had the pleasure of joining in on the fun, and let me tell you, it was truly a globally wonderful experience. Turkish coffee, Bolivian delights and Malaysian treats were just a few of the many food choices available to festival goers. The aroma was wonderful, and the array of cultural dance performances was amazing.”
The festival provided visitors with different forms of entertainment on three stages located throughout the park. The Forest stage hosted ethnic performances from many different nations each hour. The Grand stage was the host of some bands mixed with singers and dancers The World Music stage showcased a mix of traditional and modern bands from around the world. Along with the stage performances, there were demonstrations for different ethnic dances on the Village Green. Here festival goers were encouraged to participate in learning some of the dances that were showcased on the main stages.
Festival attenders learning an ethnic dance on the Village Green.