We’ve been celebrating diversity and inclusion for 20 years!
It all began in the early 2000s when then Plano Mayor Pat Evans established the Multicultural Outreach Roundtable (MCOR) as an advisory board to the Plano city council. This outreach effort was designed to give the diverse residents of Plano a voice in city government. The all-volunteer group proposed various ideas to enhance life for everyone in the community, including putting table tennis tables in Plano’s recreation centers, establishing an interfaith National Day of Prayer event, and establishing the Plano International Festival, among many others.
One of the first initiatives, proposed by MCOR founding member Dr. Christopher A. Parr, was the festival. Dr. Parr and other MCOR members created a separate non-profit 501(c) (3), the Plano International Festival Corporation, to organize and implement the festival. This team of passionate grass-roots volunteers brought the first festival to life in October 2005 in downtown Plano’s Haggard Park. The festival has been there ever since and is continuously expanding its programs and features to meet the needs of the community and offer everyone in North Texas an opportunity to enjoy and learn from each other’s cultures.
In 2008, we established a comprehensive Zero Waste program, that has since become the largest and most successful waste reducing and diverting initiative among all North Texas community festivals. In 2024, we diverted 94% of festival waste from the landfill. We’ve received many awards over the years, including the City of Plano Environmental Star of Excellence Award (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2018), the Keep Texas Beautiful Civic Organization Award – Second Place (2012), and we were a finalist for the Green Source DFW Environmental Leadership Awards (2012).
DID YOU KNOW—It takes 4,800 hours of volunteer time to bring the festival to life each year!
Our mission:
Celebrate Plano’s cultural diversity
Raise awareness of the city’s many ethnic communities
Build bridges between cultural groups
Strengthen our community
In memoriam of Dr. Christopher A. Parr, “grandfather” of the festival.
Officers:
President: Graciela Katzer
Vice President: Linda Adler
Treasurer: Julie Khan
Secretary: Dragana Pavlesic
Board Members and Coordinators:
On-stage Performances: Linda Adler
Mistress of Ceremony: Ann Bacchus and Krista Medlock
Master of Ceremony: Mike Mazur
Naturalization Ceremony: Ann Badmus
Cultural booths: Dragana Pavlesic
Indian Community Liaisons: Surita Chimah and Madhavi Reddy
STEAM program: Michaele Aberra
Food Trucks: Donna Hartman
Wellness Program: Donna Hartman
FitZone: Michele MacArthur
Children’s Global Village: Michaele Aberra
International Fashion Show: Gisell Salgado
Volunteers Coordination: Dragana Pavlesic, Andrea Sethi
Sustainability (Environmental/Zero Waste Initiatives): Andrea Sethi, Chantal Sethi,
Emmanuel Alvarez
PR and Publicity: Linda Adler
Website: Wolfgang Katzer
Youth Committee: Austin Katzer, Samantha Haggerty, Alejandra Bernal, Daniel Gates, Douglas Gates, Noah Haggerty
Past Honorary Chairs:
2023 Former Plano Mayor Pat Evans
2022 Plano Mayor John Muns
2021 Plano Fire Chief Greg Rushin
2016 Angela Miner, City of Plano Council Member
2015 Adrian Rodriguez, Trustee Collin College
2014 Former Plano Mayor Pat Evans
2013 Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere
2012 Dr. Robbie Robinson
Advisory Board: Dollie Thomas – Amitha Kodagoda, Monica Tovar, Deborah Gates, Eleni Feleke, Curtis Gittinger