For more than a decade, Global Fest has been held in Aurora in August, but this year, the free event is being held in June. And the Nepalese community in Colorado will have a key role.
The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on the Aurora Municipal Center Great Lawn. It will feature food trucks and booths selling food from around the world, 60 vendors, a Parade of Nations, an international fashion show, two stages for live dance, music and martial arts performances and a tribute to Tejano singer Selena, according to Joe Rubino, senior media relations strategist for the city of Aurora.
Another part of the event is a reception for global leaders. “And the reception is usually hosted by a country. So last year it was Guatemala, before that, it was Taiwan, and this year it is going to be Nepal,” said Binisha Shrestha, 40, who came to the US from Patan, Nepal, 12 years ago.
She now directs the Aurora-based non-profit Colorado Nepal Community focused on “providing intergenerational opportunities to people [of] Asian and Nepali heritage with community initiatives, cultural programs [and] advocacy in art and culture in our community.”
Nepal is a small country, about the size of the state of Arkansas, squished between China and India, with more than 120 languages. The landlocked country in the Himalayas it’s also known as the country with the greatest altitude change in the world.
Colorado is home to almost 7,000 Nepalese people, some of whom helped organize an exhibit at the Aurora History Museum last year. Volunteers from Shrestha’s group will also help interested visitors at the Global Fest navigate their way from the festival to the museum, also located within the municipal complex, she said.
“We'll also have a Nepali booth at Global Fest,” that will include tourism information as well. “People can come and know about how to visit Nepal,” she said, “where to go, what to do.”
