We had a blast this past weekend at the 24th International Festival of Raleigh. Rocking the kid’s area, “Sophia’s Corner,” we taught juggling, hosted hula jams, refereed limbo contests, painted on canvas, drew with markers, danced with scarves, and performed for the crowds!

Our faces stayed painted all weekend by Paint Savvy, an NC based high-quality professional face painting company. Working in the Kid’s Area, Paint Savvy jazzed up faces and even did air-brush “tattoos” for the kids.

We also worked along side the Balloon Fairy and Clowns from Mountain Circus Arts. Based in Asheville, NC, this creative group of dynamic individuals kept us entertained all weekend. I’ve never seen such amazing balloon sculptures–from fairy wings and swords to Jerry Garcia and Bob Marley! Randall the Clown kept the jokes coming and Marcy the Balloon Fairy twisted one-of-a-kind balloon pieces of art.

Kaci and Kenny the Clown teamed up on the unicycle for some balancing magic!

And what’s the International Festival without the wonderful food! Living it up at the “Side Walk Cafes,” we tasted a myriad of cultural foods. After my journeys through the festival, I found my favorite meals; drum roll please. For the best value, two days in a row, I ate the Bangladesh veggie platter including a samosa, two pakoras, chana (chickpeas), naan, and rice. The greatest dessert is a toss up between the banana-nutella crepes in France and the baklava in Turkey. For my favorite snack, I loved the potato and cheese dumplings from Ukraine, served hot with caramelized onions and a dash of sour cream.

Much thanks to our hard working volunteers!! We look forward to participating in the 25th International Festival of Raleigh next year!