Every year, Brooklynites embrace the borough's vast ethnic and linguistic diversity with cultural programming, performances and lots of scrumptious food!
Brooklyn is gearing up the celebrate the Annual International Day of Friendship on Sunday, August 5. Borough President Eric Adams initiated the event five years ago as part of his "Embrace Your Hyphen" campaign that encourages Brooklynites to celebrate and learn about the borough's beautiful diversity through awareness campaigns and cultural programming.
"I am excited to be hosting our fifth International Day of Friendship celebration so that we can come together as a community and learn about each other's stories, struggles and strengths," said Borough President Adams. "This celebration is not only about embracing our own hyphens but also learning from others. By embracing our own and others' hyphens such as Italian-American, Jamaican-American and Russian-American, we can all be a part of One Brooklyn."
The day will begin at 1:00pm with a Unity Parade of Flags, featuring the flags of 195 nations marching down Fulton Street toward Brooklyn Borough Hall. Following the parade, there will be artistic and cultural performances at the main stage in Columbus Park Plaza. The program, which will be hosted by Radio 103.9's Roxie, will run through 5:00pm with performances by folkloric Panamanian dance group Nuevo Milenio, Ajna Indian Dance Company, Braata Productions, the Brooklyn Ballet and Tahitian dance school Ori Manea, as well as a global dance party with tunes provided by London-based global garage music DJ EZ and the Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center.
A Global Village, with tents from countries around the world showcasing their cultures, cuisines and customs, will feature nations such as Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Ghana, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt, Mongolia, the Philippines, Poland and South Africa, as well as regional displays on the Caribbean and Oceania. Visitors will be able to have an interactive experience in each of these tents to feel, hear and see unique cultural artifacts and stories.
Additionally, a taste of international cuisines will be offered from an array of local food trucks, giving Brooklynites a unique culinary treat. As with previous years, BP Adams will cap the International Day of Friendship celebration with a group singing on the main stage of "We Are the World."
"There are not many places in the world that could say that they have more than 200 languages spoken throughout their municipality every day and that more than 40 percent of the people living there are born in a different country," said Adams. "As Brooklynites, this is our greatest strength and something we should embrace and celebrate."
5th Annual International Day of Friendship
When: Sunday, August 5, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
