Upper Darby continued to highlight its motto, ‘The World in One Place,’ with its 8th annual International Festival Saturday, writes Emily Neil for WHYY.
The festival featured musical and martial arts performances, a kids zone, and around 50 vendors.
The township is home to many diverse immigrant communities, all on display Sept. 20.
Children waved flags in front of the municipal building while vendors offered everything from elote and aguas frescas to mango paste and henna.
Upper Darby is the sixth largest municipality in Pennsylvania and home to 87,000 people who speak more than 100 different languages.
Ramped-up immigration enforcement nationwide did have an effect on attendance, which was much lower this year, with immigrants afraid to leave their homes.
Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown said the township has been “adversely affected” by the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, making Saturday’s celebration all the more valuable.
“This is a way for everybody to come out and enjoy each other’s cultures and focus on what’s important, and that’s connecting us all together. We have more things in common than we do different, and we try to showcase that and feature that with an event like this,” Brown said.
Read more about this year’s international festival in Upper Darby at WHYY.
