Downtown Oxford is the setting for Saturday’s CultureFEST, which will showcase a variety of multicultural artistic performances with a street fair vibe – food trucks, crafts and more await participants who visit Littlejohn Street between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Ajulo Othow and Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent are among the event planners, and they talked with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk about their hopes for the event, both in the short-term and in the long-term.
The John Chavis Historical Society has sponsored several multicultural festivals in the past few years, but Othow said new partnerships with the city of Oxford and with the Downtown Oxford Economic Development Commission have created new opportunities.
“It just felt like the best time to expand it and bring it into downtown Oxford,” she said, “making it more accessible to the entire community.” Othow said she is grateful to city leaders for making the opportunity available and being willing to partner with the Chavis historical society.
“For me, this is huge,” Sergent said. She has attended the previous multicultural festivals, and marveled at many of the performers, especially the Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble of Durham.
The dance ensemble will perform at CultureFEST, Sergent said. But there will also be cloggers and Hawaiian dancers as well.
Whether you’re interested in Latino music or learning about the Procession of the Queen, CultureFEST has a little something for everyone.
“Too often, we’re in our own little worlds and we miss out” on experiencing food, music and dance from cultures we may not be familiar with, Sergent noted.
In addition to the Hawaiian dancers, some of the other performers include Mexican folk dancers Dance Ortiz, St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church drummers, a storyteller from Chapel Hill and more.
After the festival concludes, a number of downtown restaurants will be open and serving some unique fare not usually on the menu. “They’ll be offering something that is a little out of the ordinary for them,” Othow said. Downtown Oasis is going to have spanakopita, for example, and Tobacco Wood Brewing Co. is going to offer Caribbean-style jerk chicken.
“We’ve gotten one festival figured out,” Sergent said, referring to the Hot Sauce Contest. “Now it’s time to get another one down – to highlight the talent, tastes, music…that other cultures bring to the table.” CultureFEST will be smaller than the hot sauce festival, but it has the opportunity to grow in the future, she said.
Call 919.693.9133 for more information.
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