{"id":59086,"date":"2025-11-24T18:29:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/59086\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T18:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:29:10","slug":"orlandos-fusionfest-celebrates-culture-community-and-the-power-of-showing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/59086\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando\u2019s FusionFest celebrates culture, community and the power of showing up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Credit: Matt Keller Lehman<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw people gathering together and sharing these cultural, artistic, community experiences, I really felt that this was the place that I wanted to be,\u201d says FusionFest executive director Mar\u00eda Fernanda Saavedra.<\/p>\n

And indeed, FusionFest succeeds because it imparts a sense of belonging to all present. Beyond borders and nations, at its best FusionFest demonstrates that all cultures have a place in Orlando\u2019s ever-growing community through direct connection.<\/p>\n

Eight years since it debuted downtown, FusionFest returns to the Dr. Phillips Center\u2019s Seneff Arts Plaza with its mission unchanged: Celebrate the cultures that shape Orlando through their food, dance, music, art and storytelling.<\/p>\n

FusionFest didn\u2019t begin in a boardroom. It began in living rooms, community gatherings and conversations among neighbors as Orlando\u2019s population exploded with new residents from across the globe. \u201cWe wanted to put together a nice space that everybody felt included in. I think that\u2019s one of the big successes about this festival, that this festival is for everybody,\u201d Saavedra says.<\/p>\n

What started as a generous handful of participants has since grown into a sprawling, collaborative event involving artists, performers, nonprofits and international organizations. This expansion hasn\u2019t been a smooth climb. FusionFest, like many arts organizations, has faced a year that Saavedra describes as \u201cone of the hardest yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a very difficult year, not just for FusionFest, but for arts and culture, social services, and all kinds of organizations that sustain themselves by grants,\u201d Saavedra says. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying hard, like every other organization, to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even amidst adversity there have been positives \u2014 collaborations with the Orlando Museum of Art, expanded community partnerships and the recent exhibition at Orlando International Airport featuring 10 visual artists, Art of Joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFusionFest is not a one-person organization,\u201d Saavedra says. \u201cIt\u2019s many people. We all contribute in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

One program very close to Saavedra\u2019s heart is the Migration Films project. \u201cWe pair one member of the community with one filmmaker and create these five-minute short films,\u201d she says. \u201cIt shows how we are so alike and so different at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saavedra says her own story mirrors that of many participants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am part of FusionFest because I felt that my country \u2014 I\u2019m from Colombia \u2014 [should be] represented somewhere,\u201d she explains. \u201cNot just among Colombians, but in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid contentious national debates over diversity and inclusion, Saavedra believes FusionFest\u2019s mission is unchanged and resolute. \u201cDiversity is the future. Inclusion is the key. And the world needs unity,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival features new additions, including a \u201cJoyful Tent\u201d presented by Joyful Orlando with Global Peace Film Festival 360, offering cross-cultural mental wellness and consciousness practices. Families can enjoy arts and crafts at a kids\u2019 area, and there will even be a goat-petting zone (a unifier if there ever was one).<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t stay home,\u201d Saavedra says. \u201cCome to FusionFest. Bring your kids. Bring your friends. This festival is for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for anyone who shows up, she promises real human connection, stripped of social media fog. \u201cWhen you see all kinds of flags, colors and countries being represented, it makes a true statement that we genuinely want to be part of this organization,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery time is a learning experience for me. It adds value to your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

(FusionFest: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29-30; Seneff Arts Plaza, Dr. Phillips Center, 445 S. Magnolia Ave.; fusionfest.org<\/a>; free)<\/p>\n

Orlando\u2019s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.<\/p>\n

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This article appears in Nov. 26\u2013Dec. 2, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Matt Keller Lehman \u201cWhen I saw people gathering together and sharing these cultural, artistic, community experiences, I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[35977,139,2505,141,140,35979,35992],"class_list":{"0":"post-59086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-fusionfest","9":"tag-orlando","10":"tag-orlando-events","11":"tag-orlando-headlines","12":"tag-orlando-news","13":"tag-thanksgiving-weekend","14":"tag-things-to-do-downtown-orlando"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}