Mobile International Festival celebrates 40 years of transporting visitors around the world, in one place
The Mobile International Festival invites people to explore dozens of countries without leaving home. (Allanah Taylor / Alabama News Center)
For 40 years, the Mobile International Festival has provided a ticket to people of all ages to visit the diverse countries and cultures of the world, in one place.
The longest running festival on the Gulf Coast on Nov. 18 celebrated four decades of showcasing places across the globe. This year’s event, at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds, featured exhibits and presentations from more than 70 countries. Students from Alabama and across the Gulf Coast, including Santa Rosa County, Florida, and Jackson County, Mississippi, were given a first look before the festival opened to the public.
“Mobile International Festival is a homegrown event that has become a long tradition reaching out several generations back,” said Executive Director Ester de Aguiar. “My favorite part is seeing the happy faces of the students as they explore the world. We allow our students to visit over 70 countries in just one day.”
Visitors to the festival receive a “passport” that can be stamped at each country they visit, providing a welcoming introduction to world travel through first-hand interactions with people who speak different languages while sampling the food and learning about the history and culture of distant lands. Indeed, the festival is often the first time a person is exposed to multiple cultures.
“I love bringing my students to the International Festival because, if they never have the opportunity to travel, this is their opportunity to see different cultures, to experience them through eating different foods, etc. I believe that this is probably one of the best experiences Mobile offers for kids to actually do that,” said Denise Tucker, a Spanish teacher at Baker High School.
In addition to the food stalls and the opportunity to purchase products, clothes and artwork from different countries and cultures, the festival offers performances that reflect traditions from around the world. Among this year’s highlights was a performance by Africatown drummers who shared African and Caribbean music with the theme, “Rhythm is the heartbeat of everything.” Alabama Power is among the festival sponsors.
Learn more about all of the Mobile International Festival here.
