Cabarrus Today

City of Concord issued the following announcement on Sept. 23.

The City of Concord and El Puente Hispano are excited to welcome visitors and residents to Downtown Concord for the Second Annual Concord International Festival on Saturday, October 1. Downtown Concord will be transformed into a world mosaic of different countries and cultures where visitors can experience international foods, music, dance, crafts, games, and more.

The festival is being held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Downtown Concord, with activities along Union Street and Cabarrus Avenue. There will be live music and dance performances, cultural displays, arts and crafts and merchandise vendors, international food and drinks, and a kids’ zone with globally-inspired games. This year, the festival will have more than 60 vendors and more than 40 countries and cultures will be represented. In the kids’ zone, there will be traditional games from countries such as China, Australia, Greece, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Israel, and India.

The event is FREE and will have activities for all ages to enjoy thanks to sponsors: Hispanic Federation, Telemundo Charlotte, Elevation Church, Cabarrus Arts Council, Eli Lilly, Cabarrus Health Alliance, Cabarrus Brewing Company, Transdev, F&M Bank, Ben Mynatt Family of Dealerships.

No celebration is complete without live music and dance. Performances throughout the day include:

• Banna, Celtic music from Ireland
• Nrityangan Cultural Academy, Bollywood dances from India
• Grupo Chinelos de Morelos, Danza de los Chinelos from Mexico 
• NC Brazilian Arts Project, Samba from Brazil  
• Furia Tropikal, Latin American music 
• Kenya Safari Acrobats, cultural and cirque style acts from Africa
• Nritya Dhwani School of Performing Arts, Sattriya Nritya from India 
• Thundering Wave Martial Arts, Chinese lion dance 

NEW! This year’s festival will also feature a contest for the best cultural booth and traditional outfit. Cultural booths do not sell merchandise but rather display their country’s traditions and cultures through ethnic elements and information. The booths will be judged based on creativity, impact, and how well they present information about their country. El Puente Hispano is sponsoring the prizes; the first-place booth will receive $500 and the second-place booth will receive $300. Representatives from Eli Lilly, Elevation Church, Hispanic Federation, and the City of Concord will judge the booths.

There will also be a $200 prize for the best traditional outfit with all festival attendees eligible to win!

Winners will be announced on the main stage at 5 p.m.

Road Closures: To accommodate the festival, road closures in Downtown Concord will begin at 6 a.m. on Saturday, October 1. Union Street will be closed between Killarney Avenue NE and Corban Avenue. Cabarrus Avenue will be closed between Market Street SW and Church Street.  Roads will reopen at 7 p.m.

Parking: There is free parking available throughout Downtown Concord, including in the Brian Hiatt Municipal Parking Deck at 28 Cabarrus Ave W. The Union Street entrance to the Municipal Parking Deck will be closed during the festival, traffic must enter the parking deck from Cabarrus Avenue. There is also free parking available in the County Parking Deck at the corner of Corban Avenue and Spring Street, and in the Bicentennial parking lot and County parking lot, both located off Church Street. SEE MAP BELOW.

Be sure to visit the festival website at concordinternationalfestival.com and follow the hashtags #ConcordFest and #ConcordInternationalFestival on social media for more details on the event.        

Original source can be found here.