For years, a multicultural festival has been talked about in Vacaville. This weekend, that talk comes to fruition.

Vacaville’s first Multicultural Festival, put on by the city, will feature music, dancing, crafts and food by local groups representing their cultural heritage.

“It started a long time ago and so now it’s really exciting to see it land this year, and how timely right? We need something like this,” says Special Events and Cultural Arts Coordinator Kristin Milliken.

The Chinese American Association of Solano County will do a martial arts demonstration, Halau Hula ‘o Ku’ulei Cultural & Dance Academy will perform a traditional Hawaiian Hula, Arteritano Flamenco will dance the Flamenco and more.

For food, Shula’s Kitchen, Love Lumpia, Kona Ice and La Guagua will provide a variety of cuisine options.

The inspiration for the event came in part after Milliken took a trip to Elk River three years ago for their well-established and popular multicultural festival. “It was just amazing to see the community come together and I was like, ‘I want that for Vacaville,”’ she says.

One local singer, Ramana Vieira, is excited to share her Portuguese heritage in her hometown. She will close out the event with a Fado performance.

Since she first moved to Vacaville six years ago, Vieira has heard talk of a Multicultural Festival in the works. Now she is thrilled to be a part of the first one, she says.

Fado, a style of music recognized as a symbol of Portugal, can be characterized by its melancholy tune and pointed lyrics. Vieira calls it “the music of the sea.”

When she was growing up, Fado was the music in Vieira’s household. “Through osmosis I was exposed,” she says.

Her relationship with the music changed when she was thrust on stage in a local Fado house on a trip to Portugal at the age of 18, “auditioned in the back kitchen,” she says.

After getting house approval, she says they “shoved me onto the stage with the musicians and I’m standing there like a deer in headlights, and then I sang a Fado that I gleaned from my childhood.” The song she sang, “Estranha Forma de Vida,” was received by a standing ovation.

Years later, Vieira has brought her Fado music all over the country and the Bay Area, but doesn’t play often in her current home of Vacaville, she says. This weekend’s Multicultural Festival will change that.

“I do a lot of shows outside of Vacaville and that’s kind of bittersweet to me, that I have that sort of circulation outside of my hometown. The fact that I finally am integrating into this community with my music delights me beyond belief,” says Vieira. “I’m delighted to be able to be the token Portuguese artist here in Vacaville and share my heritage.”

There have been variations of this festival in Vacaville’s history, says Milliken, adding that she is thankful for the community support and assistance in putting the multicultural event together. “It really comes down to those relationships and reaching out to the community,” she said.

Talk of this event spread like wildfire in Vacaville, and the city has been able to have a lot of community involvement, says Milliken. With just a few days until the festival, she says she hopes people come out and come together in celebration.

If you go …

WHAT: Inaugural Vacaville Multicultural Festival

WHEN: May 10, 1-5 p.m.

WHERE: Andrews Park, Downtown Vacaville.