THE ISSUE: The Bowling Green International Festival is Saturday at Circus Square Park. More than 100 exhibitions, booths and tables will be set up to display the international community that Bowling Green has, as well as dances, performances and other activities. It is arguably one of the most anticipated community events Bowling Green hosts during the year. 

OUR STANCE: While many may think that Bowling Green is simply a small city in western Kentucky, it is actually surprisingly diverse for its size. Students and the Bowling Green community should look at the International Festival as one of many opportunities to become a more well-rounded person. 

Bowling Green is not an urban metropolis. 

Its 58,000-person city population is laughable compared to nearby Nashville or Louisville. The city does not have skyscrapers, large museums, large stadiums or other features prominent to most big cities. Bowling Green does, however, compete with big cities in one area, and that is in terms of its international community. 

Some may not be aware that Bowling Green is also an international refugee city with its own refugee center. This contributes greatly to the amount of international people in the city. 

The area has a lot to offer those who pigeonhole it as another southern city with little racial diversity. It is a city full of as much international culture as bigger cities. In a time when America is becoming more diverse, nothing prepares someone for a global society like Bowling Green can. 

It’s important to be exposed to people who don’t look like you, simply because they can provide an alternate perspective. One does not and cannot know everything. Learning about the different experiences of the people who inhabit the world is one of the many factors that arguably make life worth living. What’s life without learning from one another? What’s life without hearing stories from places you’ve only seen in magazines or on television?

This is what the international community in Bowling Green can provide for those who have been sheltered in their travels so far in life and even those who have been to different countries. There truly is no story like one heard from people from another land. 

So if you weren’t planning on going to the International Festival this Saturday, then perhaps you should give it a second thought. More than likely, you’ll see or meet something or someone captivating or interesting. If not that, then you surely will try some good food.

This editorial represents the majority opinion of the Herald’s 14-member editorial board.