Educate, Embrace, and Celebrate Lexington Cultures at the DiverCity Festival

Published in TOPS Magazine, January 2025

photos by Mahan Multimedia

Warm, aromatic food sizzles on a grill. Dancers wave their skirts with a flourish to the tune of Latin music on a raised stage. Children zigzag through the crowd with festival goodies in hand, feeding off of the excited energy that buzzes through downtown Lexington on a warm summer day. This is only a snapshot of the events that take place at Lexington’s annual DiverCity Festival, a day that allows the city’s wide array of cultural groups to take the stage and showcase their unique stories and experiences.

The festival was the brainchild of Brett Bibb, Michael Kunjoo, Christian Adair and Brad Ingram as part of the Leadership Lexington program, which is one of Commerce Lexington’s leadership development programs in which cross-sector leaders in the community come together to learn about the city and complete various community-based projects. The first festival took place in April of 2019, and all four founders of the program still serve on the Board, along with original project members Jeremy Kisling and Noel Osborn. 

Preparing for the annual festival is no small feat, considering the one-day event attracts over 5,000 attendees and features more than 70 vendors and more than 30 performances each year. The Board begins planning the upcoming festivals in January, including coordinating logistics, attracting minority businesses for the event, booking performances and marketing the festival. 

The three pillars of the festival are to educate, embrace and celebrate. This is accomplished through the performances, food, organizations and educational opportunities that the event provides. 

“Many people don’t know that there are more than 170 languages spoken in schools in Fayette County,” said Brett Bibb, one of the DiverCity Festival’s founders. “Lexington has many great events celebrating culture individually – our event brings everyone together to experience our differences together, learn from each other, and celebrate what makes us unique.” 

Three-time participant and business owner Wanda Lewis said she appreciates how the DiverCity Festival helps local businesses and gives her an outlet to share her creativity. “The best part is talking to people, seeing what they’re about, seeing all the different cultures and just interacting with them,” Lewis said. With a creative business like button making, Lewis strives to be diverse through her art. Lewis said she has a button for everyone and that this event shows her that diversity and businesses like hers matter.

“Each year, the festival grows, and each year, it brings incredible stories and experiences. We are simply grateful to provide communities the opportunity to celebrate one another. There is something very special seeing that evolve,” Bibb said. 

The DiverCity Festival celebrates a vast group of cultures in Lexington, some of which many people do not even realize are represented in the city. By the end of the festival, the goal is for attendees and participants alike to leave feeling more connected to their community and learn something new about those around them. 

“My personal favorite memory comes from our inaugural festival in 2019,” Michael Kunjoo, another festival founder, said. “We had a Middle Eastern dance group that came into the crowd during their performance and had everyone dancing along with them. We spoke with members of the group following their performance, and they indicated their apprehension about performing downtown because they did not know how the crowd would react. They were ecstatic with the reaction our community had to their culture. This is what this festival is about – people feeling proud to represent their own cultures and being excited to experience other cultures.” 

The next DiverCity Festival will take place on Saturday, May 24th, 2025, at the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza. Thanks to the 250Lex celebration and a partnership with the city, this event will be the largest to date, with even more vendors and performances and an enhanced focus on programming and activities aimed at children. Visit divercitylexington.com to learn more. •