Nakia Wilson, 10, left, and Quanah Wilson, 14, perform a grass dance at the Festival of Cultures held Sunday afternoon at South Park. The event celebrated cultures from around the world.

Lawrence is a city known for its diverse and multicultural community.

On Sunday the city put that diversity on display during the second annual Festival of Cultures in South Park. The celebration included live music, educational booths, dancing and food from around the globe.

“It gives people in the community a chance to enjoy and appreciate and show their appreciation toward people of diverse groups,” said Deb Taylor, chair of the Lawrence Alliance. The group collaborated with the city and the Centro Hispano Resource Center to organize the event. “It’s a relaxing time for everyone to get together and just talk,” Taylor said.

The annual event used to be known as Feria Hispana, but organizers wanted to open the festival to all cultures to promote tolerance and respect within the community. “It’s wonderful to see all these different people from different countries and different ethnic backgrounds with different displays just out there sharing,” said Centro Hispano director Lydia Diebolt.

Local vendors representing Panama, Mexico and Honduras served authentic Latin American cuisine while the audience was entertained by flamenco dancers. “The food was right on point,” said Michael Sanchez. The 33-year-old Lawrence resident saw the festival’s sign on Massachusetts Street and decided to check it out. “You don’t really get to see this every day and to see it like this is really nice,” he said. “It’s just enriching for everyone.”

Some say the best way to experience a new culture is to eat the food. It was that sentiment that brought Santa Berilioz, a Lawrence resident from Honduras, and her sister Ida Kimse to the celebration. The women served up traditional Honduran barbeque with the help of family members. “We had a girl that came and had to have a second set of pinchos (skewers of marinated meat and vegetables) because she said ‘they were just like the ones at home’ and she was from an Arabian country and it was like wow, that’s kind of neat,” said Kimse.

Hundreds of people attended the celebration, but organizers were more impressed with the number of kids at the festival. “It seems like when you are exposed to other cultures at a young age you’re more open to befriend people from other cultures,” Kimse said.

Both Taylor and Diebolt hope to continue the collaboration between their groups next year. Diebolt said it’s an essential part of improving the city’s cultural awareness. “Anytime there is participation and dialogue and communication, something good comes of it,” she said.