Organizers of the second annual Worldfest promise a bigger, better and even more diverse festival in downtown Bryan this weekend.
Festival Coordinator Kim Fox said the festival, which highlights cultures from around the world, has nearly doubled in size since it's inaugural event last year.
Organizers expect nearly 5,000 people to hit the streets of downtown Bryan between from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to enjoy food, crafts, entertainment and displays from around the globe.
More than 120 countries are represented as part of Texas A&M University's student population, she said.
"We want the community to come out and learn about the world around them and our international neighbors that are here in the Brazos Valley... and be able to leave here saying 'I learned something I didn't know,'" Fox said. "And, of course, to have a good time."
Nearly 60 groups are sponsoring interactive "culture displays" at this year's event. Countries to be represented Saturday include Taiwan, Turkey, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Bolivia and many more.
Local heritage organizations including the Brazos Valley Czech Heritage Society will also sponsor activities. The local Czech group will demonstrate sauerkraut-making and traditional kolaches.
All together, Fox estimates about 80 groups will be part of putting on the festival.
Performances during Worldfest will be on five stages: Palace Theater, Revolution Bar and Cafe as well as a Community Stage, the Carnegie Library and the Bryan Public Library.
Attendees can expect to see Balkan folk music, a West High School Czech dancing group and Scottish jigs and reels among other performances at Revolution.
An international fashion show along with last year's most popular performers -- dragon dancing and Japanese drummers -- are among those set to perform at The Palace.
At the community stage, groups including Aggieland Cloggers, martial arts, belly dancing and flamenco groups along with the Pied Piper of Percussion will perform.
The Pied Piper, otherwise known as Steve Gryb, will bring more than 300 samples from his enormous collection of percussion instruments to the festival for guests to visit throughout the day. Guests can experiment with a xylophone made of wrenches, goat toenail rattles and spring drums that sound like thunder.
At 2:55, Gryb will perform his show called The Rhythm is Going to Get You, a hands-on interactive percussion experience.
Gryb performs about 150 shows per year, he said in an interview this week.
"The show is a little like Mardi Gras and New Year's Eve all rolled into one," he said. "I call it a percussion party."
The musician, who is based in Florida, said he has about 1,600 percussion instruments in his collection. This will be his first trip to Bryan-College Station.
Free continuous shuttle service will take people from Blinn College to downtown Bryan throughout Saturday's event.
For a complete list of events and schedule of performances, go online to http://brazosvalleyworldfest.org.
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