The eighth annual Ridgefield Multicultural Festival filled downtown and Overlook Park with music, dance and games from across the globe on Saturday, Sept. 6. This year’s theme, “Fun and Games,” invited visitors to play cultural pastimes from Cambodia, China, France, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Sweden and beyond.
The day kicked off with a Portland Samba parade, which started in Davis Park and wound down Main Avenue past rows of vendors before arriving at Overlook Park. Samba dancers drew cheers as drummers and horns set the pace, marking the start of the city’s biggest multicultural celebration of the year.
Mayor Matt Cole opened the festival by emphasizing Ridgefield’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity and the importance of creating a community where everyone feels they belong.
“This is a celebration to celebrate different cultures and different stories and different backgrounds,” Cole said. “Festivals like this are about connection. They're about understanding. They're about building the kind of community where we feel like everybody belongs, and that's why it matters here today.”
The day kicked off with a Portland Samba parade, which started in Davis Park and wound down Main Avenue past rows of vendors before arriving at Overlook Park. Samba dancers drew cheers as drummers set the pace.
At Overlook Park, the mahjong tournament quickly drew a crowd, with players focusing over rows of tiles as samba dancers passed by behind them. For newcomers, volunteers taught the basics of the traditional Chinese game. Nearby, families played Loteria, a Mexican game similar to bingo that had multiple rounds throughout the day.
Other featured games included Klah Klok from Cambodia, Shut the Box from France, Tumbang Preso from the Philippines, Kubb from Sweden, a cornhole tournament, and a quick introduction to Dungeons & Dragons, an American pastime.
Ridgefield Multicultural Initiative President Megan Dudley said the variety was designed to let families explore play traditions from different cultures while also learning about their history.
Cultural performances and demonstrations filled the schedule alongside the games. Master Hosuk Oh of Master Oh Tae Kwon Do in Battle Ground led a performance of both Korean martial arts and music with his students, which drew a large crowd. He later accepted the festival’s Keeper of the Culture award, honoring his years of work to preserve Korean traditions.
“Every year, somebody who's demonstrated just dedication to maintaining culture and keeping culture alive receives an award from us and so he's the person this year,” Dudley said.
The entertainment lineup also included salsa lessons before a performance by Milla de Cuba, Ghanaian drumming and dance, Vietnamese traditional dance, and a laughter yoga workshop.
For younger attendees, Basque storyteller Terryl Mitchell Asla read his children’s book Zaldi Danced, teaching Basque vocabulary along the way. Dudley said weaving learning opportunities into the games and performances was key to this year’s planning.
The Ridgefield Multicultural Festival began in 2018 as a city-run event and has since grown under the Ridgefield Multicultural Initiative, drawing larger crowds each year.
“We've just kept adding more pieces to it, [like] adding themes to it, and it's grown in size for sure, attendance has grown,” Dudley said.
In August, Mayor Cole issued a proclamation naming September Multicultural Awareness Month, underscoring the city’s year-round dedication to celebrating cultural diversity.
“It's a commitment to celebrate diversity not just today but all year long,” he said.
