A rich variety of cultures make up the community of Utah County.

Many of those cultures will be shared at the Utah County Fair. This is the first year that the Opening Night Cultural Celebration will be held. The celebration, which will entertain as well as educate visitors, is designed to honor the diverse people in the community, and will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 14.

“We want to produce a fair that achieves two purposes: supports local performers and is representative of the wonderfully diverse community we have here in Utah County,” said Calli Nielsen, fair director. “We felt very strongly that a free concert that will give several different cultures an opportunity to showcase their culture through dance, music and spoken word would be a great way to achieve these two purposes.”

The Cultural Celebration will include African, Native American, Mexican, Latin American, youth Mexican and Puerto Rican dances. Each group of dancers will use their performances to tell their stories. Nielsen said the performing groups were not told what to perform by the fair committee; rather, the groups are encouraged to use their creativity and talents to demonstrate what represents them and what they want the attendees to know about their different cultures.

“Some of the groups will have live music, others will have spoken word, some will be interactive with the audience, all will have dance in their performances. The most important thing is they are telling the story they wish to tell,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen said when the fair committee and the performing groups were planning the celebration, it was decided that having a free family event would be the best way to include as many people as possible in this celebration.

“Bring the whole family,” Nielsen said. “We have such a diversity of performers, there really is something for everyone at this performance.”

The Opening Night Cultural Celebration is free for all attendees. While the event begins at 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m. The celebration will be held at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, 475 S. Main St. More information can be found at http://UtahCountyFair.org or on the Utah County Fair Facebook page.

“We are really excited to showcase, support, celebrate and highlight Utah County diversity,” Nielsen said. “Dance and music are engaging ways to create a memorable experience with attendees, which we feel will foster strong community relationships.”