With traditional dance, international cuisine and a celebration of culture, the Brazos Valley Worldfest is back this weekend for its eighth annual festival at Wolf Pen Creek Park.
Booths from student and local organizations will be set up around the park showcasing the uniqueness of different cultures. There will be three stages with 27 performance groups, said Linda Edwards, Brazos Valley Board of Directors. Edwards estimated an attendance in the range of 15,000 people.
At Worldfest, the main attraction is the diversity, said Worldfest coordinator Kim Fox.
“It’s a chance for you to travel around the world in one day and experience a lot of different cultures, foods and music,” Fox said. “It’s kind of an educational entertainment event.”
This will also be the first year that Worldfest will serve alcoholic beverages. By popular demand, the coordinators have brought 14 international beer flavors that event attendees can sample.
Worldfest will have an international food court as well as vendors who cook food in front of event attendees. Apart from international foods, Edwards said there would be typical fair food at the park as well.
Kevin Garcia, president of the Colombian Student Association, said his organization’s booth affords an opportunity to show off their heritage.
“It’s a good way to show off our culture from Columbia, and our coffee,” Garcia said.
Monir Ahammad, president of the Bangladesh Student Association, said the event is a chance to immerse his organization in the community
“This is a really good opportunity for us at Texas A&M University and being able to share our culture with all the students and the community living here in College Station,” Ahammad said. “We always like to spread our culture, let people know where we came from and also learn about other cultures as well.”
Worldfest has grown significantly since the first festival in 2005, having to move venues three times for the amount of people attending.
Dee Dee Leverette, chair for volunteers and vendors, said there will be more vendors this year and an increased number of cultural displays.
Worldfest will begin at 7 p.m. Friday.