Franne Jennings greets people at the U.S.A. / Passport booth at the 2011 Bowling Green International Festival.

Circus Square Park will once again be teeming with costumes, music and dance from around the globe for the Bowling Green International Festival from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 29. Performances on the three stages this year will showcase the cultural arts of Nepal, Bosnia, China, Iraq, Bhutan, the Phillippines, Greece, Spain, Myanmar, Japan, India, as well as East Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, among others.

Past favorites, such as the Zingara Bellydance Troupe, Bosnian pop singer/songwriter and musician Armin Hasanagic, and Rachana Pasupuleti, performing classical Indian Bharatanatyam dance, will return.

New York and Montreal-based HuDost, a neo-folk world rock ensemble, will make the trek to Bowling Green again to present its unique music that fuses eastern and country influences. Cofounders Jemal Wade Hines (voice, guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, bendir, percussion) and Moksha Sommer (voice, harmonium, piano, shahi baaja) will attend with their band, which this season added Bonnaroo to its long list of tour stops in the U.S. and Europe, as well as Ms. Marguerite Barnett, who dances in a variety of styles throughout their performance, donned in beautifully intricate costumes.

Also returning are: Flamenco Talk, a group of singers, musicians and dancers lead by artistic director Mariya Tarakanova, who will present the art of flamenco; Kentucky Performing Arts artist Cheryl Pan and her students showcasing traditional Chinese dances; reggae group Roots of a Rebellion; steel fusion group The Great Barrier Reefs; and the Celtic foursome Watersprite.

New performers for this year’s event include: the Coco Yam Band performing salsa; Desert Rose, a duo of Iraqi pianists accompanied by a pair of bellydancers; Feckless Fear Dearg, a new local Celtic group; Maurice Moro, an accomplished likembe player (East African thumb piano); Tuatha Dea, an African/Celtic/Native American influenced band; and the Sudanese Rebaba Project, featuring south Sudanese Folk dances.

Watersprite (Jack Montgomery, Lesley Montgomery, Molly Kerby and Sarah Spinks), Feckless Fear Dearg (Zach Daugherty, Susanne Stinson Hughes, Rusty Lewis, Bruce Spence), Ms. Pasupuleti, Armin Hasanagic, Zingara, KUD Zumbuli and both the Filipino and Bhutanese performers are all Bowling Green-based artists, as is one member of the Sudanese Rebaba Project.

As performances continue throughout the day, people can browse a wide variety of cultural displays, food and merchandise booths presented by local organizations, individuals and businesses. As is customary, festival goers who wish to participate in the “passport” program can pick up a booklet at the festival-sponsored U.S.A. booth to begin their journey, collecting flags from the booths around the park to add to their “passport” book.

Children are a special part of the event. The children’s activity tent will offer 15 different craft projects to take home for free. In addition, sculptor Ronnie Jaggers will provide 10 handmade piñatas filled with treats for the kids to break every hour on the hour.

Throughout September, there will also be related events by supporters of the festival, including a student poster contest on display in the Warren County Courthouse and an alfombro display in the children’s gallery at Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center. The posters use the theme “Access to the World,” which was inspired by the many ways in which technology and the Internet, particularly social networking sites, have made the world a smaller place. The SKyPAC exhibit is a tribute to the Guatemalen art of alfombro, which involves using painted sawdust to create a visually stunning carpet. In this case, SKyPAC worked with children at the Bowling Green International Center to create miniature carpets that have a personal relevance.

Admission for the one-day event is $4. Children 12 and under will be admitted for free. A coupon on the festival’s website at www.BGInternationalFest.com allows two people to get in for $5. Admission is also lowered to $2 for anyone purchasing a restaurant discount card at the gate. The cards cost $5 and provide the carrier with a 10% discount for one year at more than 30 area restaurants.

The Bowling Green International Festival is seeking 250 volunteers for the event and encouraging groups to consider hosting booths. Information about all forms of participation, including booth spaces, volunteering and sponsorship, is available on the website.