As the year draws to a close, we are thrilled at how 2022 has turned out. After a very challenging two years, live events come back live plus some new additions. It was a good year! So we wanted to share some of the highlights with you.

Lunar New Year (February) was once again live at the Taubman Museum. Presentations from the Blacksburg Chinese School, Shaolin Dragons and Southwest Virginia Ballet was just what we needed to get the new year going right!

NEW Nowruz (Persian New Year) (March), a collaboration with the City of Roanoke and Blue Ridge Literacy, brought a new event to the city of Roanoke in March. Nowruz is an important spring celebration in Iran, Afghanistan, and other central Asian countries. The audience enjoyed traditional and contemporary Afghan music, poetry, and the Haft-seen table, a Nowruz tradition.

The Local Colors Festival (May) was back in full swing at Elmwood Park for its 31st year after 2 years away. We were excited to see all the features back--the opening ceremony with the Procession of Nations, performances and martial arts demonstrations all afternoon at the amphitheater, a bustling children's area and of course all the vendors with food, artisan crafts, and more representing cultures from around the world. It was a good turnout and good day!

Our Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration (October) was back for a third year at Wells Fargo Plaza. The rain tried to stop us but moving the date gave us a gorgeous day and a good turnout. A Latin dance medley and Quinceanera presentation from Dream Dance Fitness, audience participation in Circle Singing, and a lively music set from Carol Joy and Tricolor rounded out the stage program. Vendors and community partners were on hand representing the Latino community. Plus delicious food from Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico!

NEW A Celebration of African Cultures (November), a collaboration with CommUnity Arts Reach, featured an evening of music, dance, storytelling, and fashion shows demonstrating the rich vibrancy of African cultures. Vendors booths were on hand with artisan crafts and education. There was an abundance of African snacks plus delicious hot food from Sierra Leone.

A special thanks to our event sponsors, grant funders and corporate donors

Local Colors will keep promoting diversity and fostering inclusion. We hope to carry the momentum of 2022 into the next year and continue bringing our exciting events to the community, bigger and bolder than ever. Plus, we plan on doing more segments on Blue Ridge PBS highlighting different cultural traditions and capture more videos for our social media pages. Let us know if can highlight your culture! We also hope for opportunities to conduct our cultural sensitivity presentations. The presentations run approximately 40 minutes and are ideal for groups who want to interact with a diverse population well. Contact our office at (540) 904-2234 with any questions.

 Support our work

Local Colors is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate ethnic heritages from around the globe and build multicultural understanding. As you can see from the growth of the organization, we are serious about making an impact in the Roanoke Valley by creating a welcoming place for people from diverse backgrounds and providing educational opportunities for learning about different cultures. We keep our events free so they are as accessible as possible.

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