Our Mission
The International Festival strives to celebrate the diversity of Harrisonburg and the surrounding communities by providing a friendly forum in which cultural groups can showcase their cultural and linguistic values as a means to educate the larger community and to support awareness for their presence and contribution.
History:
We began in 1997 as an alliance of various community groups and individuals who wanted to promote tolerance to all residents and offer support to local immigrants and cultural businesses. That first year, it was a small and dedicated group that put together the festival on short notice, and though it remains relatively small, our planning committee continues to diversify through increasing community involvement. Realizing the importance of communication, the festival has always translated our promotional and informational materials in the most prominent languages of our area. From the beginning, our main features of International music, dance, food, artists, storytelling, and activities for everyone have been in place, and we follow the motto: Explore, Educate, Entertain, Eat.*