The public is invited to attend Missouri S&T’s Celebration of Nations on Saturday, Sept. 29. This is the ninth annual celebration, which showcases and recognizes the cultural diversity in the Rolla area.

The event will begin with the Parade of Nations at 11 a.m. The procession will begin at the corner of 11th and Rolla streets. This year’s parade will represent more than 80 countries, along with the Marching Miners, camels, and floats created by community and campus groups. The colorful 10-block procession will travel to the Downtown Rolla Bandshell. At the parade route’s end, the many flags of the represented countries will be recognized and then placed in their spot on the wall of flags.

The festival portion of the day begins at noon at the band shell with opening remarks from Rolla Mayor Lou Magdits and Missouri S&T interim Chancellor Christopher Maples. After opening remarks, the crowd can enjoy performances from contestants in the Celebrate Talent competition, which begins at 1 p.m. Interested participants can still sign up at nations.mst.edu. Celebrate Talent has grown over the years and includes acts both from American and international performers. The acts will perform for a panel of judges, and the winners will be announced and awarded prizes at 3:45 p.m.

Celebration of Nations a family-friendly event with no entrance fee. Spend the afternoon sampling American and international food as you stroll through over 50 food, craft and educational vendors. Guests can pick up festival passports at the international affairs booth and fill them with country stamp of each booth they visit. When the passport is full, guests may turn them in to receive a personalized “Global Diplomat Certificate.”

This year, the Kaleidoscope Discovery Center is organizing the Kid’s Corner and will have projects available for all the participants, including face painting, bounce houses and a sand pile. Camels will walk in the parade and camel rides will be available during the festival. Alpacas will join the camels for the festival portion of the day.

For a complete schedule of events and a map of the parade route, visit nations.mst.edu. For more information on Celebration of Nations, contact Richie Myers, program coordinator for international and cultural affairs at myersrj@mst.edu. Support Celebration of Nations through its crowdfunding campaign by visiting crowdfunding.mst.edu.