Food is its own language. Among strangers with nothing in common, the tastes of shared family recipes and traditional home-cooked meals can bridge cultures, ages and backgrounds, said Cheryl McCarver.

As she organizes the second annual International Food Festival and Global Fashion Show at the Arlington-Mansfield Area YMCA, food’s ability to bond is top of mind for McCarver, the YMCA’s senior vice president of global and local engagement.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 21, attendees can get free tastes of cuisines from across the globe, including Thai, Ethiopian and Mexican.

The event joins nationwide festivities for Welcoming Week, an annual, nonpartisan celebration of diversity and the benefits it brings to American culture. The week has been spearheaded by Welcoming America since 2012, with over 3,000 YMCA branches across the country participating. 

McCarver said the celebration is especially relevant in Arlington, where about 21% of residents were born outside the United States — a number higher than the national average of 13.6%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The food festival’s vendors, many adorned in cultural clothing, will share their cultures through samples of their restaurants’ food. Between the lines of dishes, a resource fair will promote the day’s theme of “Make Arlington Home” and feature a panel discussion on how to navigate the immigration system. 

Every half hour, a Global Fashion Show will showcase models in clothing from Native American, South Asian, Vietnamese and Latin cultures.

The 2023 festival attracted about 150 attendees, McCarver said. The YMCA is now preparing for bigger crowds, with over 700 people showing interest in the event on Facebook.

Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.