The One World Festival in Lancaster will be held Sept. 8 at the Franklin and Marshall College at the Alumni Sports and Fitness Center. Deepa Balepur, Chair of the One World Festival Committee and Tom Daniels, Performance Coordinator of the festival appeared on The Spark to promote the festival. The festival was born in 2018, as Deepa was attending the Asian Indian Festival.

 "I would say a native Lancastrian who came up to me and said, you know, this is such a great thing you guys are doing. It is wonderful learning about different cultures. And this is a very special day for me. And I asked her, I said, why do you say that? And she said, well, I love Indian food, so I'm starting my day here. I'm going to have lunch, and then I'm going to head over to, Business Park where the, African American Festival is happening. And after that, I'm going to go to Long's Park because that's where the Latin American festival is happening. You know, it would be really cool if you guys could all get together and do this in one location. Not only would it be super convenient, but it would also be so much fun and such a great exposure of, you know, the different cultures that exist in our wonderful community. So that thought kind of just stuck with me. So the next morning, I reached out to the organizers of the other two festivals and told them the story and said, if you're interested, let's talk. And, they were very interested in continuing the conversation. So I would say that's really where the seed of the One World Festival got planted, "said Balepur.

The event is free and open to the public. The festival showcases a variety of food, cultural heritage, music, dancing, and performances embracing different cultures.

"So, you know, it's, you you walk into the room and they will you will be welcomed by a lot of color and music and, nonstop performances. The aroma of the food, which is, you know, representative of food from different parts of the world, merchants and artisans showcasing products that they're looking to sell or handicrafts, different arts and crafts. It's really a very, vibrant and inviting and welcoming environment, "said Balepur.

 

 

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