Countries from abroad joined together on campus Sunday afternoon as the Baton Rouge Capital City Rotary Club and the University’s International Programs displayed cultural exhibits and performances 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in Parker Coliseum for Global Community Day.
The free event celebrated its third year in a new location this year. Global Community Day moved from downtown in hopes of growing the number of guests, said Baton Rouge Capital City Rotary Club president Charles Landreneau.
Global Community Day brought in people representing China, Russia, Uganda, Panama and more, along with families and children from the Baton Rouge area to join in on the fun.
“You know, if we can influence [children] in a positive way at such an early age, hopefully that will transcend throughout their life,” Landreneau said.
Guests were given a “passport” with the mission to visit each country’s booth for a stamp. After filling the passport the guests could redeem it for a prize at the end of their journey around the world.
Each country’s booth provided facts, food and crafts. Some booths had articles of clothing or jewelry reflecting the country’s culture.
A few booths accepted donations for areas suffering from disasters or third world issues. The Haitian booth accepted $10 donations to provide families with 350-500 gallons of clean drinking water.
“We’re trying to promote unity and diffuse all the stuff you hear on the news because these are our neighbors,” Landreneau said.
Landreneau said this was the first year the Rotary Club was solely responsible for the event. The city was formerly a co-sponsor but backed out for budgetary reasons.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana attended the festivities as a title sponsor, giving support and funding. Its team members volunteered to give back to the community.
“What we’re really trying to do here is to just promote unity with all the different countries that are represented,” Landreneau said. “Until we started this, I had no earthly idea we had this many countries represented right here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Ryan McCarble

Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce member Leslie Dozier gives opening remarks on Sept. 19, 2016 in the LSU Global Office.