“There may be conflicts in the world, but here in the Roanoke Valley, our ‘local colors’ work together in peace and harmony. Mexicans are working with Venezuelans; Syrians with Lebanese, etc. Local Colors continue spreading its mission of peace and good will!”
FEATURED COUNTRY: this year is India at the festival on Saturday, May 19 from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Local Colors Festival, southwestern Virginia’s largest multicultural gathering, returns to Elmwood Park this year to celebrate 28 years of uniting the region’s diverse cultures still with Free admission! This is a family-friendly, festive day of celebrating, sharing and learning about diverse heritages in our area through music, arts and crafts, food, attire, language and goodwill.
Get ready for a day of international culture, entertainment and lots of food! Vendors selling art, jewelry, crafts and clothing from around the world will line the paths of Elmwood Park while food vendors will be serving up delicacies from all corners of the globe in Elmwood Park and on Franklin Road. On stage, musicians and dancers will dazzle as they share their cultural heritage.
This year we are pleased to present India as featured country along with local as well as regional performances. Representatives from Indian communities in the region will perform both traditional and Bollywood dance as part of their program!
A Presentation of Nations procession with representatives from countries worldwide kicks off the festival beginning at 11 a.m. During the day, children can participate in the Passport Program wherein they will pick up a blank festival passport at the Free Children’s activities area and “go around the world in one day” as they learn about the countries and cultures represented in our Valley.
New this year will be a revamped Local Colors app, complete with schedule for educational workshop, located at localcolors.org/m. Information on classes, using your mobile device, at localcolors.org/m. demonstrations by Roanoke Capoeira and Salsa Noke; traditional and bollywood-style Indian dance and a “selfie station” along with a dedicated Local Colors Snapchat filter!
Special Features
Community access to event map and performance schedule is available May 15 on your mobile device at localcolors.org/m
The span of the festival includes Elmwood Park, Franklin Road between Jefferson Street and Williamson Road, and the Blue Ridge Literacy classroom, which will be used for demonstrations, located in the downtown library and the front yard of the library for other performances.
Event Sponsors: City of Roanoke; Norfolk Southern; Kroger; Carilion Clinic, Jefferson College of Health Sciences; COX; and WDBJ TV7.
Local Colors Board of Director: Jay Saunders, Jr., Dr. N.L. Bishop, Courtney Campbell, Afira DeVries, Dr. Brenda Hale, Stephanie Holladay, Diana Martin, Judy Moore, Dr. Elda Stanco-Downey, Jack Tompkins.
Local Colors is a Roanoke-based, yearlong multicultural program which recognizes and embraces people of diverse origins, races and ethnic backgrounds. Local Colors works throughout the community to promote diversity and multicultural understanding, culminating in the Local Colors Festival, always the third Saturday in May.
