Richmond's Multicultural Festival: 22 years of culture and unity 'getting stronger every day'

RICHMOND, Va. — Scores of people gathered at Richmond Raceway Complex Saturday to celebrate a simple but powerful mission: bringing cultures from around the world together in one place to learn from one another.

The festival is co-hosted by Richmond's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Engagement, Henrico County's Outreach & Engagement Agency and ReEstablish Richmond. It is held in celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month and World Refugee Day.

Roxana Talavera-Denson, with Richmond's Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, said the event has grown significantly since its early days at Broad Rock Park.

"Our communities have grown, our communities are coming from all over the U.S., all over the world," Talavera-Denson said. "And as we're seeing those beautiful cultures expand and uniting, we're seeing the growth of what is the Multicultural Festival and that's what makes the heart of what this is."

She said the festival draws performers and food vendors from outside Virginia who seek out the event to share their cultures.

Talavera-Denson said the festival's reach extends beyond the region, with visitors from across the country and around the world attending.

"Even though we say 20 individuals are here or countries representing this beautiful festival, we're actually bringing individuals from all over the world," Talavera-Denson said.

She described the festival as an inclusive space built around learning and connection.

"This event is for our communities, all of our communities," Talavera-Denson said. "The goal is for us to understand a little bit of who we are, how we have a common space, and how we have our differences that we can learn from each other and bring us together at the end of the day."

Talavera-Denson, who is originally from Nicaragua, said she feels personally connected to the mission of the festival.

"I feel like I'm on a cloud because what better place — just to know that we have a space that's just open, that we're so united," Talavera-Denson said. "It makes you feel like you're just in a universe that you've never thought of. It's a dream that is coming true and it's getting stronger every day."