Columbus City Hall and the blocks around it turn into a two-day showcase of the world this Friday and Saturday, as the 41st Ethnic Expo sets up shop from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. The free, unticketed festival is presented by First Financial Bank near 123 Washington St., and this year's theme, “Global Voices, Local Stories,” leans into the personal histories behind the city's international population rather than spotlighting a single nation.
That shift away from naming one host country each year is itself part of the expo's story. As The Republic reports, the festival used that single-country format from 1990 through 2023 before organizers moved back toward a broader, all-cultures approach. The idea traces back to the event's 1984 founding by Barbara Stewart, wife of former Columbus Mayor Robert N. Stewart, who launched the civic festival to help new international residents feel at home in the city.
Robert N. Stewart was Columbus mayor. The region's economy has an international dimension.
A Festival Built Into the City's Infrastructure
Downtown Washington Street is hosting the festival's 43 food vendors and 20 bazaar market vendors, representing over 30 countries, per The Republic's reporting on this year's event.
The crowds reflect a city that has genuinely diversified. An estimated 15.9% of Columbus residents are foreign-born, according to U.S. Census Bureau data covering 2020 through 2024, a trend tied to decades of international employers, including manufacturing and engineering companies, drawing talent to Bartholomew County. Ethnic Expo coordinator Jody Coffman, a community development specialist with the city, wants attendees to lean into that mix of backgrounds this weekend. Coffman hopes attendees will talk with friends and new people about why they chose Columbus and why they love it, per The Republic, describing the event as a reunion for friends, family and neighbors.
Crowds Have Grown Even as the Format Changed
Ethnic Expo has not run every year. The festival skipped 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and marked its 40th anniversary in 2024. Columbus Ganesh Mandal Dhol Tasha Pathak performed outside City Hall during the 40th celebration on Oct. 11, 2025. Attendance has since rebounded well past its pre-pandemic numbers: more than 40,000 people turned out over two days in 2025, according to Coffman's figures reported by The Republic.
That's actually larger than the festival's famed peak decades ago. In the 1990s, when Ethnic Expo spanned three days and included a Sunday kite-flying event championed by Stewart, crowds topped out around 35,000, per the same Republic account. The festival now covers its ground in two days rather than three, but draws a bigger crowd doing it.
Food Trucks and the Returning DORA
The city's Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, a social district, lets patrons 21 and older buy alcoholic drinks from approved downtown businesses and carry them within DORA boundaries. The DORA option carries over from last year's festival as well.
What's on the Stages
The festival has a main stage and a biergarten stage, with entertainment on Friday and Saturday. Friday's performances start later in the day since the city conducts normal business that morning and afternoon, while Saturday is billed as a full day of flashier entertainment. The main stage lineup includes Mariachi Sol Jalisciense, Yidam, Darkside Troupe, CGM Percussion, Malachi Parks and DJ Garth, with Liah Mazz and Southern Indiana Taiko each performing sets and holding workshops. Over at the biergarten stage, acts include Marissa Fullenkamp, New York State of Mind, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Hi Rise.
Families have their own corner of the festival, too. KidsCommons and Columbus Recycles are hosting kids' activities that run from the start of the festival through 7 p.m. both days. Learn more at www.ethnicexpo.org.
