Ethnic Enrichment Commission

My fav festival in all the KC land.
An outdoor event in mid-​late August seems like it would sweat-​filled mess, but it always seems to work out well for the Ethnic Enrichment Festival. Plus if it is a little toasty, they run into the night on Friday and Saturday so that’s your prime window.
This festival showcases so many cool things, from cultural heritage and pride, to of course amazing food. I try to make a point each year to hit the booths with food I’ve never tried, or at least seldom tried. In other words, skip the food from the Mexican booth when you go here.
I’m sitting here trying to recount the delicious food and having trouble condensing it into my Unilocal review. Seriously, you can get jerk chicken from Jamaica, Nepalese dumplings, Pakistani ice cream, St. Lucian coconut cake, and on and on and on.
This past year was by far the busiest I’ve ever seen the festival which meant some long lines. No biggie, but something to be aware of it you’re borderline hangry.
I always love the cultural dances and performances up in the pavilion. It’s a cool way to instill cultural pride in for younger generations. This year we caught the Samoan dances and they were awesome, with one little tyke running the show. This kid was on point, and barking out orders and just feeling it.
I’ve gone more than once in a weekend before, but with the massive crowds I opted against it this time around. It would be cool to see them expand the grounds by about 20 feet around to accommodate their growing demands and help make sure the lines don’t make it too difficult for people to get around.
Pencil this in every mid-​late August and you’ll see me there stuffing my face!

The Ethnic Enrichment Festival is one of the most interesting and fun events I’ve ever had the privilege to take part in, all thanks to my in-​laws!
My father-​in-​law is from Denmark. He, my mother-​in-​law, and a few of their friends have been regulars at this festival for years. My wife and I have now gone the last two years and we are already looking forward to next year.
The Ethnic Enrichment Festival is an incredible way that this city displays and takes pride in it’s incredible ethnic diversity. And what better way than to have a fun gathering in the park with a bunch of food and dancing?
No matter how adventurous an eater you are, from the very adventurous to the not so adventurous, there is plenty to eat here. Everything is priced reasonably. Make lots of stops. Get a passport at the entrance and see how many places you can visit and get stamps. Experience something new. You can do all that here.
And, if you are interested, you can pull up a seat at the pavilion and watch one of the many dances and performances.
This is one of my favorite things here in Kansas City and I highly recommend you go at least once.

I finally made it to the Ethnic Enrichment Commission’s annual festival in Swope Park, after several years of hoping to get to it and being deterred by super hot weather, rain, etc. This year, I didn’t even let hoisting around an eight-​month pregnancy deter me, and I’m glad.
What a great festival! Has the most reasonable cover charge/​fees ($ 3, free parking) I’ve seen among festivals and events that charge those, Swope Park is a beautiful setting for the event, and the booths and entertainment were just delightful. Kudos to the booths that decorated… a Lithuanian «castle,» a brightly painted red and gold Thai kiosk with floaty golden curtains, pretty murals on the American Indian booth, etc. really added to the atmosphere.
The food was awesome… went with a group, and our strategy was to disperse and meet back with plates to share, so everyone got a wide sampling. It seems overwhelming, at first, but I loved that the brochure breaks down the food and drink offerings of each booth, so you don’t stuff yourself on one leg of the loop and then end up thinking, «Gee, I wish I’d saved room for _​_​_​_​!»
The musical/​dance/​cultural acts were great and varied, and although I didn’t get to as many of the booths selling crafts and wares as I typically do, I did manage to find some cool textiles! People (guests and vendors alike) were really pleasant, and everyone was having a great time. This might be my new favorite festival in KC!

The Ethnic Festival is my favorite annual summer time activity in Kansas City. All year long, I crave a cup of Turkish coffee and I finally get the best coffee ever the 3^rd weekend of August.
I have gone every single year since I was a small child. I even got in the newspaper back in the day because of my love for the Hawaiian shaved ice.
The cover charge is only $ 3 and even if you just go to people watch, it’s totally worth it.
I have a strategy for getting the most out of the Ethnic Festival. I always walk around the entire park 1 time, looking at what each booth has to offer. I write down in my brochure which ones that I want to try. I then go around a second time and buy from my favorite booths.
The people manning the booths are always pleasant and some are really funny with their sales tactics. The Ethnic Festival is always a fun time and it always makes me proud to call Kansas City my home.

Much better this year. It seemed there were a few more booths, and more areas to sit. Again, reasonable cover charge.
The cost of the food ranged, this year, from $ 1 to $ 8. I loved the Chai Shai booth with the mango shakes. Yummy.
I still wish more local restaurants, (like Chai Shai) would have booths, so we could get both an ethnic flavor and a local flavor. We had a mixture of offerings, and know next year, what we might try.
This year there were booths with clothes… yep, I’m a sucker for India tunics. They didn’t have bags, though, so I had to stuff it in my purse.
The weather was cooler, too, which was a total plus. You guys might want to go and check it out!

Three stars for promoting other cultures, some of which are indeed a true minority in this region.
I went to the Ethnic Enrichment Festival last year on one of those hottest days of the summer when all I felt like doing was go off and melt under a tree like a discarded ice pop. I like the heat, but I don’t like it in crowded, shadeless situations. My parasol was apparently a hot commodity because I was asked by no fewer than 5 people which booth I had bought it at (didn’t buy it there). It was brutal!
I like what they are trying to do here, but it needs to be better executed, especially the food, which in many cases I found to be not quite authentic but junk food with «ethnic flavor.» Nice to see the amount of performances that go on, though we only caught one of them in our short time there.
This is not a criticism on the Commission’s part, but come on, Kansas City, ethnic enrichment should not be condensed to one weekend a year! I think there should be more separate fairs/​parades etc. that highlight one country or region at a time. When you have all the continents thrown together into one festival, it kind of loses something.

Bravo to putting on a fair that encourages diversity and one’s heritage. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen true diversity in KC Metro.
We went to Saturday’s fair at Swope Park.
However, I don’t understand why local restaurants don’t man the booths or sponsor them. They might have proper food. Americanized Chinese food for Laos and Vietnam for instance doesn’t quite compute. There were a few dozen booths. I didn’t notice any restaurants being represented.
The local dances were cute and it was fun to walk to the different booths and look at the wares and the food (and sample it). The cover charge was reasonable $ 3.