It might not have been a school day, but the learning continued anyway.

Coloring activities, guessing games, and paper fortune tellers drew adults and children alike Saturday to a table as UT foreign language instructor Laurie Puszczewicz and senior Zach Biglin then taught their small audience Spanish words and facts about culture.

Nearby there was a wide variety of ethnic food for sale, booths with handmade clothing and jewelry, and ethnic cookbooks and artwork on display, at the eighth annual International Festival at the Savage Arena concourse on the University of Toledo campus.

It was the fifth year Ms. Puszczewicz took part.

PHOTO GALLERY: Toledo Sister Cities International Fest

“I think it’s all about diversity and how diversity can be fun and interesting,” she said. “These days, we’re getting a lot of messages that maybe diversity is not fun and interesting. It can be a really good and positive thing.”

The festival kicked off with a parade of nations at 10 a.m. 

Tables were also set up celebrating the cultures of many countries, including Spain, China, Hungary, Poland, Japan, Germany, and Pakistan.

Valencia Amos-King, of Toledo, took her grandchildren to the festival. She wanted Ezra, 10, and Marley, 2, to be exposed to different cultures.

“They learned how to speak different languages, and that benefits them,” she said. “They can learn to communicate with people of different cultures and backgrounds.”

The nonprofit group Toledo Sister Cities International hosts the event every year — which is sponsored in part by The Blade — and has been building relationships between municipalities since 1931. The first “sister city” relationship is believed to have been established that year between Toledo, Ohio, and Toledo, Spain.

“We hear people talk about diversity,” said James Hartung, president of the Toledo Sister Cities board of trustees. 

“This festival highlights our diversity with different ethnic entertainment, foods, crafts, souvenirs, and even a language corner. This really is our opportunity to share pride in our heritages and learn about other cultures, and to truly show the diversity of not just Toledo, but all of northwest Ohio.”

A couple thousand are believed to have attended, with many of them crowding to see about 20 local musical groups and acts that took the stage to perform songs and dances from all around the world over the course of the eight-hour event.

Former Toledo Mayor Mike Bell introduced musical acts as they took the stage. 

He encouraged the crowd to visit the language corner and learn how to say hello in different ways.

“Thats what this festival is all about,” he said.

Contact Jay Skebba at: jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.

First Published April 30, 2017, 4:00 a.m.