Richmond residents can tour the globe in their own backyard this weekend.
The third annual Richmond World Festival kicks off Friday afternoon, where a mix of international cultures will be displayed through high-profile music, dance, food, sports and traditions.
More than 75 performances, over 80 exhibitors and about 50 food trucks will come together at nine stages to create a truly global journey for each attendee, according to City of Richmond spokesperson Ted Townsend.
“Come take an adventure and learn about other cultures; it’s a good opportunity to celebrate our city’s diversity,” said Townsend.
Townsend told the Richmond News that what sets the World Festival apart is the large number of professional artists participating across both traditional and contemporary shows.
“A lot of multicultural festivals really rely on amateur, community-based performers and tend to be very traditional,” he said.
“We have a lot of that, but we also have many professional artists and contemporary modern performers. Many of them do current performances with traditional culture integrated.”
The international headliner of this year’s festival is South Korea’s famous K-Pop star Verbal Jint, who is set to wow the audience Friday night.
“He will add to the international flavour of the festival, which is indeed a ‘world’ festival,” said Townsend.
Most of the performers are local artists who trace their roots to First Nations, Asia, Africa, South and Central America and Europe.
There will also be well-known artists from across the country, such as the rockers Tokyo Police Club and electronic band Dragonette.
“The variety of entertainment activities people will see at the festival is really huge,” added Townsend.
Performances will include traditional ones such as Toque Flamenco (Latino), Khac Chi (Vietnamese), as well as South Korean drumming, and Indigenous dancing. There will also be modern art forms containing cutting-edge technologies at the Digital Carnival.
Townsend said it is hard to say how many different cultures will be represented at the festival, because some performances are a fusion of various cultures, such as the one given by Cantonese opera performer Son of James.
“He has a lot of background in Chinese opera, and grew up under the influence of modern rock music, so now he plays a mixture of rock and soul that blends with traditional Asian sound,” said Townsend.
Children can also enjoy themselves by watching a puppet show or joining entertainer Chris Hamilton on the “Kids World Stage.”
“A lot of families like to come in the day time to enjoy it. In the evening the focus tends to move towards to the main stage, where musical headlines, more high-profile, well-known performances, tend to bring the younger audience,” said Townsend.
Alongside the various performances will be a large selection of food offered at the festival, including the global “FEASTival” of flavours courtesy of more than 50 food trucks.
There will also be culinary stages on the site, where celebrity chefs will give demonstrations.
At the same time, more than 80 exhibitors from various community centres and cultural organizations will add more colour to the event.
Previously held only for one day, this year’s World Festival will take place from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, with more than 35,000 people expected to show up.
People are recommended to come by public transit or bike – there will be a free, secure bike parking area.
For full details, go online to RichmondWorldFestival.com.
Festival highlights:
Friday:Verbal Jint, Dirty Radio, Khac Chi, Vancouver Puppet Theatre, Korean Drummers, Adalat Dancers, Chris Hamilton
Saturday: Tokyo Police Club, Dragonette, White Thunder Dance, Son of James, World of Poetry Showcase, Kunda Africa, Richmond Martial Arts.
