In November of 2016, about 40 people from various heritages, including co-founder Thali Sugisawa, gathered to brainstorm the best way to share our heritages. In the following month, a Steering Committee began 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.