This year’s Las Cruces International Festival promises to be the largest one yet, with a new location and a new partnership between the City of Las Cruces and New Mexico State University’s Office of International and Border Programs to host the annual event.
This year’s Las Cruces International Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 14 at the Plaza de Las Cruces, 100 Main Street. The festival is free and open to the public.
The festival offers the NMSU campus and local community an opportunity to experience different cultures from across the globe. Currently, NMSU has more than 1,300 international students from 80 countries on campus, and many of those students are making important contributions to research and the NMSU and Las Cruces communities.
Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima will welcome attendees as part of the city’s partnership in hosting the festival, which will feature cultural displays with native art, textiles, artifacts, photographs, music, dancing and games. Participating international students will be dressed in their native fashions.
“It’s really wonderful to have students from throughout the world enhancing their education at New Mexico State University and adding to the excitement that makes Las Cruces such a strong, dynamic and great community,” Miyagishima said. “We welcome them to our city, and we are very happy they have chosen the Plaza de Las Cruces to have their festival.”
Rod McSherry, interim associate provost of International and Border Programs, said he expects this year’s festival to be bigger than in years past because of its new location.
“The festival is a chance to showcase our international diversity on campus and share that with the greater Las Cruces community,” McSherry said. “We New Mexicans are fortunate to already enjoy a rich, multicultural environment. So, in many ways, this added dimension of bringing even more cultures from around the globe to downtown Las Cruces is an extension of us being naturally international.”
Representatives from several countries including Saudi Arabia, China, Bangladesh, India and Nepal are expected to attend this year’s festival, as well as many community organizations.
For more information, visit https://ibp.nmsu.edu/international-festival/.
Information from NMSU