On the Town: There were tasters of cultures from many corners of the world at a programme launch party in Dublin this week. Irish singer Iarla Ó Lionaird sang about a lovely woman with eyes "ar dhath an fhéir ghlais" ("the colour of green grass") and hair "ar dhath na gcaora" ("the colour of berries").
Later, Hekim Sanehi, a singer from Afghanistan, sang about a dear love who is full of desire for him "too poor az khastani hasti".
Then a troupe of capoeira dancers, under the watchful eye of Daniela Quaresima, stopped some hearts as they somersaulted over the concrete.
The countdown to this year's Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, which will run over the weekend starting on Friday, August 26th, had begun in earnest.
"We are planning 160 events, catering for 160,000 festival-goers," said festival director Jody Ackland. Up to 70 per cent of the events will be open to the public free of charge.
"The essence of this festival is its contributors, and we work with communities, groups and individuals on co-producing events," she added, listing the Chinese, Traveller, Roma, Muslim, Filipino, Brazilian and Indonesian communities who have programmed events for the festival.
Also at the party were Faisal Yusuf and Maya Sunario, of the Indonesian Irish Association; Cecilia Jaber, the Mexican ambassador; Andreas Kakouris, the ambassador of Cyprus; and Oliver Wang, who broadcasts his show, Chinatown Radio, on Dublin's community radio station, Anna Livia FM.
According to Jane Davy, the festival's manager, there are more than 40 venues in and around Dún Laoghaire, which will be manned by more than 250 volunteers.
"Other people talk about multiculturalism, but I think it's important to create a platform where you can meet. Now you can go to Dún Laoghaire," said Bisi Adigun, a Nigerian percussionist, actor and director working in Dublin.
The Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, runs from Fri, Aug 26 to Sun, Aug 28