Springfield’s annual CultureFest draws crowd

About 1,000 people gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown Springfield to celebrate the diversity in and around the city.

Springfield’s CultureFest featured music, entertainment, fun and games and a lot more this year. Resident Tiffany Kaffenbarger said she thought the festival was good for Springfield.

“The more you gather around, you get more businesses around here, it will just help Springfield,” she said.

MORE: CultureFest brings the world to Springfield

She said Saturday was her first time at CultureFest and that she enjoyed her time.

“The more diverse we can be, the more we can expand and maybe we can bring Springfield back to where it used to be.”

Different types of food from many cultures were for sale at the festival. Children were given activities t0 help them learn more about the cultures around the world and in Springfield.

People were seen celebrating their heritage by teaching others about it, Saturday. Some paraded a dragon commonly associated with Chinese New Years around the festival and others showed clothes from their homeland.

Yousef Ahmad, who was born in Africa, sold clothing at the festival.

“They are African print dresses for women and accessories,” he said. “Everything is handmade.”

He had beaded necklaces, bracelets, dresses and aprons. He said people from all backgrounds buy his products.

READ: Culture Fest at City Hall Plaza in Springfield

“Everybody likes colors,” he said.

Lakhwinder Singh had a booth open for his restaurant Jett India. He said he had been to CultureFest many times over the years and liked seeing so many people attending.

“We have been here for many, many years,” he said. “We are here every year. I love Springfield.”

He said he never wants to miss a Springfield CultureFest.

“We got a lot of friends from the festival here and people love the food,” he said. “I am here all the time. There are a lot of people here. There are activities here all day.”

Resident Renee Stacey said she showed up because her 11-year-old daughter was singing in a choir. She said she thought the festival was a nice change of pace for the city.

“There’s sometimes nothing for anybody to do in Springfield,” she said.

She said she wants to attend more events like CultureFest that bring the community together.

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