Empire State Review Team 
Queens celebrated its diversity today with the first annual NYC Cultural Heritage Festival, held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The festival, organized by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Queens Borough President’s office, brought together dozens of communities to showcase their unique traditions, music, and cuisines.
The event featured more than 100 performances, including Colombian cumbia dancers, Chinese lion dancers, and Nigerian drummers. Food stalls offered a variety of dishes, from South Indian dosas to Dominican mofongo. “Queens is the most diverse place on Earth, and today we’re celebrating that,” said Borough President Donovan Richards during the opening ceremony.
Workshops and exhibits highlighted the contributions of immigrant communities to New York City’s cultural and economic fabric. Panels on immigrant rights and small business opportunities drew significant crowds, offering practical advice to attendees.
“This is about embracing and celebrating what makes us different, while recognizing the common threads that bind us together,” said Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The festival drew an estimated 25,000 attendees, and organizers announced plans to make it an annual event, rotating between different boroughs in the coming years.
