World Food & Music Festival Returns This Weekend

Dancers perform at the 2021 World Food & Music Festival in Western Gateway Park. Photo courtesy of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Although summer is quickly winding down, there’s still time to squeeze in a low-stress trip around the world without leaving downtown Des Moines.

The 2022 World Food & Music Festival returns to Western Gateway Park Sept. 16–18 with 50 food and drink vendors representing 27 countries, including Bosnia, Cambodia, the Netherlands, Tanzania and Vietnam. After making the rounds, find recipes to take home at the Culinary Discovery Pavilion highlighting the diversity in Greater Des Moines’ food offerings.

Catch Parranderos Latin Combo on Friday evening, a cooking challenge on Saturday morning, and a range of performances from Ukrainian and Vietnamese vocalists, Gateway Dance Theater, Scottish bagpipe group MacKenzie Highlanders, Native American dancers Morningstar Dance Troupe and more.

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. View the program schedule and list of vendors on the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s website.