For 25 years, the Celebrating Cultural Diversity Festival (CCDF) offered members of the University of Iowa and surrounding communities an opportunity to create meaningful cross-cultural interactions and gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of others. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the event commemorated the milestone—and celebrated its final year.

The CCDF featured everything from food and games to diverse acts, music, and demonstrations. It was sponsored by the UI Chief Diversity Office, and one of the events helping kick off the UI’s Homecoming week.

Though it’s the end of an era for the CCDF, the UI’s commitment to diversity and inclusion continues through the development of several new initiatives, including the BUILD certificate program for faculty and staff, as well as ongoing support for the growing network of student and community events that have developed over the years. 

“We recognize the history and important purpose this festival has served. But we now have a number of partners on campus and in the community who are putting on other diversity-related festivals and events and helping raise cultural awareness by bringing people together,” says Georgina Dodge, UI chief diversity officer and associate vice president. “This allows us to channel our energy and resources in other ways and be a little more nuanced in what we do to advance our diversity efforts. We’re not taking a step back in our diversity efforts but instead looking at how we can ramp things up.”