It all began when Sam Roberts of the Caribbean American Passport and Yves Bouele of the African Leaders Council approached Terry Olson about creating some kind of international event. While there are dozens of festivals centered around one heritage or another in our community, we thought, What if we all came together at the same time?
In November of 2016, about 40 people from various heritages gathered to brainstorm the best way to share our heritages. In the following month, a Steering Committeebegan to take shape and has been meeting monthly ever since.
Some of the early stepping stones to the festival were bimonthly “Gathering of Nations” events with a few people from every heritage we could find in Central Florida (currently we have more than 140 heritages identified). Each of the Gatherings was focused on a particular aspect of culture ̶ Food, Dance, Music, Clothing, Games, Literature. These explorations helped us envision what a “fusion” festival would look like – a place where we honored our heritages while celebrating how we influence each other as we shape our own unique identity as Central Floridians.
FusionFest was recognized as a project that positively impacts the community and received the “Award of Excellence” at the Golden Brick Awards hosted by the Downtown Orlando Partnership, and won 1st place in “Community Outreach Program” from the Florida Festivals and Events Association.
Under the fiscal sponsorship of the Downtown Arts District and support from Orange County Government, the Orlando Downtown Development Board, the Dr. Phillips Center of Performing Arts, and a growing grassroots movement, FusionFest continues to advance and celebrate diversity, inclusion and collaboration in Central Florida.
Just two years in, FusionFest has become Orlando’s premier celebration of the diverse cultures that
Four spoken-word artists gave award-winning voice to the spirit of diversity at this year’s FusionFest
The pop duo Will N’ Ray was named the best music act at this year’s
Two budding filmmakers turned identity into success at this year’s FusionFest, earning big prizes for
The cultural collective Peru Art International scored top honors in the ultra-competitive dance competition at
Sticky Rice Lao Street Food cooked up a big win at this year’s FusionFest, receiving
Fashion artist Londa Msanii literally embodied the spirit of FusionFest by being named the top
Interdisciplinary artist Mär Martinez followed her muse to a big win at this year’s FusionFest
FusionFest encourages creativity and innovation through contests for participants who will fuse elements from different
Jenna Simpson had always dreamed of visiting England, where her Jamaican father was born, and
Central Florida is home to an increasingly diverse community of people who enrich each others’
Some top transplants tell their story on film to kick off the season of Orlando’s
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FusionFest is a project of the Downtown Arts District with support from Orange County Government and the Orlando Downtown Development Board, at the Dr. Phillips Center.