More than 100 countries were represented at the 30 th annual Columbia International Festival April 5-6 at the state fairgrounds. Thousands of visitors made their way through the Cantey and Goodman buildings exploring different countries and cultures.
Each country had a booth where people learned about aspects of that particular country. In the next building, visitors made their way to explore different foods and watch as select countries performed traditional song and dance routines and donned traditional attire. Representatives of their country also participated in a flag parade where each country’s representative waved the flag while wearing traditional outfits.
The festival has been an annual tradition since 1996 bringing together international communities and building better community and race relations in the state. The festival allows the community to interact and learn about each country’s unique attributes and talk with people either from the particular country or representing the country…