Multicultural Festival 2022
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Multicultural Festival 2022

Relocates to Reston Town Center

Capoeira Luanda performs Brazil's fast and graceful Capoeira at the Multicultural Festival 2022. It is a blend of dance, martial arts, and acrobatics developed by enslaved West Africans in Brazil in the 16th century

Capoeira Luanda performs Brazil's fast and graceful Capoeira at the Multicultural Festival 2022. It is a blend of dance, martial arts, and acrobatics developed by enslaved West Africans in Brazil in the 16th century Photo by Mercia Hobson.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, Reston Community Center and Reston Town Center Association presented the Multicultural Festival 2022. The event, produced from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in partnership with the National Council of Traditional Arts, displayed diversity through song, dance, art, and vendors.

Mac Cummins, the new chief executive officer of the Reston Association, worked at the organization's tent, just one of many onsite vendors. Cummings saw the Multicultural Festival through the lens of a newcomer to the community.

Cummins described the festival as an opportunity to bring people together and foster a sense of community through a greater understanding of diversity and difference. He estimated that thousands of people were in attendance, enjoying the music and opportunities to showcase diverse backgrounds and histories.

"It relates to Bob Simmons's vision of building community through interaction and physical space," said Cummins. "That was his core concept. Those goals lead to this type of gathering."