Downtown Louisville’s riverfront plaza is transforming into a global marketplace this week, as the 24th annual WorldFest takes over the Belvedere with nearly 150 vendors selling arts, crafts, food and drink from across the globe. The free festival runs through Monday, September 7, drawing visitors for live performances scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.
According to WLKY, this year’s event includes three entertainment stages, a children’s activity zone, and the kind of scale that has made WorldFest a Labor Day weekend fixture. The festival takes over the Belvedere starting Friday, and the outlet reports the lineup builds toward Saturday afternoon’s Parade of Cultures, which is expected to feature nearly 1,000 participants representing cultures from around the world.
The Belvedere itself carries decades of civic history. The plaza overlooking the Ohio River was dedicated on April 27, 1973, and has served as a central venue for concerts and civic gatherings for more than 50 years, according to GoToLouisville.com. Its location near 5th and Main Streets makes it an easy draw for both locals and visitors from Southern Indiana.
A Citizenship Ceremony With a View
A Citizenship Ceremony With a View One of WorldFest’s most distinctive traditions happens just steps from the festival grounds. The naturalization ceremony, which will welcome 100 new Americans this year, takes place at the Muhammad Ali Center, per the same GoToLouisville.com account. City officials say the event’s scale is significant: WorldFest draws an estimated crowd of more than 150,000 attendees over its four-day run, according to LouisvilleKY.gov, making it one of the largest international festivals in the region…