COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus has agreed to a one-year pilot program with the Columbus Area Visitors Center for event promotion, and specifically to handle next year’s Ethnic Expo in whatever form it emerges after the pandemic.
“While we don’t want to lose Ethnic Expo, we are really unsure about what next year will look like, and whether we can cram 20,000 to 30,000 people into one space over a weekend any time in the near future,” said Mary Ferdon, the city’s executive director of administration and community development.
The city announced in May that the 2020 Ethnic Expo, normally held in the fall, was canceled. Expo, launched in 1984 by late first lady Barbara Stewart, aims to allow the city’s international residents, often brought here for work with corporations such as Cummins Inc., to share their culture with others. Plus, Stewart wanted to help those residents feel more comfortable in south central Indiana, especially when they were missing their homeland.
Organizers with the city of Columbus estimate that 25,000 people yearly attended the two-day festival highlighting food, music and an international bazaar. The expo normally includes more than 30 food booths from area organizations raising money and also local restaurants, plus music ranging from ensembles such as Asian drum groups, Mexican dance ensembles and the Cummins Diversity Choir.
Ethnic Expo has been made possible by donations from the presenting sponsor, First Financial Bank, for the last 10 years, and other sponsors including Coca-Cola, ERMCO Electric, and Milestone. It is also made possible, in part, with support from the Indiana Arts Commission, the Columbus Area Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, as well as the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
This year, Columbus Board of Works and Public Safety has unanimously agreed to a one-year pilot program that will draw on the expertise of the Columbus Area Visitors Center for event promotion, Ferdon said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
