Saturday’s 32nd annual Multicultural Fair – held for the first time in three years, under finicky skies – brought throngs of visitors to campus. The event is sponsored by UMW’s James Farmer Multicultural Center. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.

The Multicultural Fair is back! After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the colorful, festive, crowd-pleasing event returned to the University of Mary Washington’s Fredericksburg campus Saturday. The nexus may have shifted from Ball Circle – sacred site of Commencement, and current incubator to baby grasses – to Jefferson Square, but the familiar sounds and scents wafted down Campus Walk, which was filled with people, dogs and vendors.

The sun peeped from behind the clouds every now and then, and random raindrops fell, but none of the activities were dimmed.

“It was great to host the Multicultural Fair in person again,” said Marion Sanford, director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center, sponsor for 32 years of this annual spring event. “It was wonderful to have the amazing vendors and dynamic performances throughout the day.” Read more.

The Multicultural Fair is a longstanding tradition that celebrates culture and diversity as its foundation. This wonderful event, first implemented in 1990, strives to bring the campus and local community together to embrace the many ethnicities, heritages and customs that make our society so rich and vibrant. It serves as the culminating event of the year-long Cultural Awareness Series. Each year when implemented, the Fair attracts thousands to campus. The event exemplifies UMW’s commitment to multicultural awareness, and the appreciation of differences. The Fair provides an entire day  packed with cultural performances, children’s educational activities, international cuisine, and an array of ethnic arts and crafts.

The coordination of the Fair is helmed by the James Farmer Multicultural Center staff. Yet, the implementation of the event is truly a campus-wide effort, including the contributions of a myriad of University departments, offices, faculty, staff, campus organizations, and individual students. We are grateful and impressed to have these different constituents giving of their time and vesting their resources to ensure the Fair’s success. From the children’s stage to the food vendors on Jefferson Square, the market place lining Campus Walk, and performance stages at Lee, Farmer and GW Halls, the Fair presents a sizable array of delights presented to educate, entertain, and entice participants to drink in the cultures of the world, and enjoy the company of the diverse crowd gathered in the heart of the Mary Washington campus.

The impact for the campus and local community continues to be lauded and reflective of the mission of the JFMC and the University, to enhance cultural understanding, and create opportunities for global engagement.