Here are some photographs from the floor of The International Festival at The Raleigh Convention Center. If you enjoy “people watching” then this was perfect for you. The diversity in clothing styles was truly something you had to see for yourself. There are very few places where you can feast you eyes on so many different cultures at once as well as feast your stomach on so many great foods.
I mostly covered the dancing on the main stage throughout the day, but was able to sneak away for lunch and dinner to grab a few shots. If you would like to see more you can CLICK HERE to view the post that focuses on the cultural dancing that were performed on the main stage.
Here’s a panorama photograph that I stitched together of the entire Raleigh Convention Center floor.
To support the non-profit organization International Focus, Inc visitors could purchase tshirts branded with the International Festival logo or opt for stylish an international apron or scarf.
The street signs and the faux “fronts” of each food stand on the international food strip gave everything a nice feel. I love the smoke in the background of this one. I wish I could share the smell with you too.
Ladies in Dutch hats are adorable!
Each booth was unique and authentic to a particular region of the world.
There were a variety of crafts and wares available for purchase at all of the booths too.
This set of russian dolls looked just like our cat “Snarf.” I was half tempted to get them as a gift for my wife … I think these are kind of cool when they pop open to reveal a smaller one inside. I think this one had seven or eight different cat dolls inside.
Hopefully these kids were allowed to get the one they want. Something tells me that they’ll go for the Obama one. In hindsight I should have opened that one up to see what or who was inside.
They also had educational booths that focused on teaching about different languages. In this photo a family learns a few words from the Ethiopian culture.
Henna tattoos are always a big hit with people of all ages… but especially with the kids.
There were also several areas where festival goers could have their first name, nickname or surname painted in Chinese calligraphy.
This couple was wearing authentic Scottish outfits. I posed them in front of the Scottish home fireplace for a warm portrait.
I like the look on the booth vendors face as this girl snuck a photo of herself trying on a Chinese hat… I’m sure that photo made it’s way to Facebook a few minutes later.
A nap sounds good to me! It was a long day for me as well…
A skyline shot of the Raleigh Convention Center. For those of you that have not seen the giant shimmering tree mural it in person it is quite beautiful at night as it cycles through several colors. Dare I say it is lusterous?
The moon was out that night and the sky looked beautiful so I grabbed this shot as it poked through a hole in the clouds.
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