A forest of flags were waving proudly at Memorial Park on Saturday when the community came together for a lively celebration of Griffith's multicultural makeup.
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It was the biggest multicultural festival Griffith had ever seen, the entire park packed end to end with festival-goers enjoying sights, sounds, and dishes from every corner of the globe.
A major highlight of the festival was the spaghetti eating competition, which was easily won by a skinny 8-year-old boy.
Taylor Morrell hoovered up plates of spaghetti like it was nothing, astonishing the audience and trouncing his older opponents.
Taylor was crowned the 2019 spaghetti eating champion and was rewarded for his skills with even more pasta.
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Another highlight of the festival was when PJ Lale sashayed onto the stage in a sequined loincloth and dazzled the audience with his fabulous Tongan and Samoan dance-moves.
The Samoan boys also delighted female audience members with their spicy dance routine, attracting many a high-pitch squeal from the crowd.
The Tirkandi Inaburra boys put on a deadly performance with their classic Wiradjuri dance, and they topped it all off with a masterful didgeridoo solo.
Many cultures were represented at the festival for the very first time, including Cook Island, South Indian, and Japanese cultural performances.
A cute dancing troupe of South Indian girls took to the stage in their most colourful saree dresses, Japanese teacher Kiyomi Calwell drummed up the crowd with a lively taiko performance, and the Cook Islanders put on a spectacular solo dance and drum routine.
There were food stalls boasting a dizzying variety of exotic food, and Asians of all stripes flocked to Ting Liao's Taiwanese bubble milk tea stall.
Multicultural Council of Griffith president Carmel La Rocca said she'd never seen such a huge turnout in all her years of running the multicultural festival.
"I'm really happy today, just look at how full the park is," Ms La Rocca said.
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