McMinnville International Cultural Festival
Inaugural McMinnville International Cultural Festival 2026
Folashade Roberts
The Black History Museum of Warren County has always believed that understanding one another is the first step toward a stronger
community. Through preserved images, artifacts, and art, the museum honors and celebrates
the history of African Americans in Warren County, offering educational and cultural
experiences that bring people together. For Mickey Gwyn, the museum’s director, that
mission has always pointed toward something bigger than four walls and a collection
of artifacts. It has always pointed toward the community itself.
Mickey, a former Air Force member who visited numerous countries during his service,
had long believed that experiencing other cultures firsthand changes a person. Mickey
knew that most Warren County residents would never have that opportunity. As he sat
with that reality alongside the museum's growing financial pressures, an idea began
to take shape. What if the museum could bring the world to Warren County? That question
became the foundation for the inaugural McMinnville International Cultural Festival, a gathering of diverse cultures, traditions, performances, and cuisines that brought
the entire community together in a way few events ever have.
“We may not be able to take Warren Countians to the world,” Mickey said, “but we can
bring the world to Warren County.”
From the beginning, Mickey envisioned the festival as a yearly tradition, a fundraiser
for the museum and a celebration of the rich cultural diversity that already exists
within Warren County. To make that vision a reality, he reached out to the City of
McMinnville, the McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce and Main Street McMinnville.
That network led him to Jordan Pupols, the City of McMinnville's Marketing and Tourism
Director, whose passion for cultural anthropology made her immediately drawn to the
project and whose connections would prove essential to bringing it to life.
Jordan knew that bringing the festival to life would require more than enthusiasm.
The festival needed a strong professional visual identity and a digital presence that
could reach the broader community. That is when she thought of the Tennessee Center
for Rural Innovation.
“We had a powerful concept and a passionate team, but we lacked the dedicated creative
and digital infrastructure needed to market a new event of this scale,” Jordan said.
“Because of TCRI's reputation for empowering rural communities, connecting with them
felt like a natural and perfect fit to help bring this vision to life.”
That vision came to life on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Milner Recreation Center, where
the McMinnville International Cultural Festival brought the community together for
a day unlike any other. The gymnasium had been transformed into a showcase of cultures
from around the world, with vendors, food trucks and performances that gave attendees
a window into traditions far beyond Warren County. For Mickey, certain moments stood
out.
“When Martha Lupai was conducting the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony and there were people
of various demographics surrounding the stage asking questions and tasting the coffee,
it showed how curious humans can be about something outside the norm,” Mickey said.
“When the Middle Tennessee Irish Music and Dance troupe played traditional Irish music
and a couple got up and started dancing, it showed how music transcends societal standards.”
Those moments of connection and curiosity were exactly what Mickey had envisioned
when he first proposed the festival. For him, they proved that McMinnville was ready
to embrace the world on its doorstep.
“Being open-minded, willing to try something different and accepting of the melting
pot that is McMinnville, Warren County and America was what the festival was all about,”
Mickey said.
However, making those moments possible required more than vision and planning. Behind
the scenes, a partnership with the Tennessee Center for Rural Innovation, based at Tennessee Tech University, gave the festival the professional tools it
needed to reach the community. TCRI works to help small towns and local organizations
grow by bringing together university resources, real-world expertise and student talent
to move ideas into action across rural Tennessee. As early as 2025 and continuing
through 2026, TCRI worked alongside the museum to provide the branding, graphics and
website that proved essential to the festival's success.
Molly Perry, a graphic designer at TCRI, developed the branding and graphics for the
festival. Drawing inspiration from the rich textile traditions of different cultures
around the world, she built a complete brand kit that included everything from billboards
to staff shirts, lamp post banners to social media templates, all delivered nearly
a year before the festival took place. At the heart of that work was a simple but
powerful idea.
“When I presented the idea of different patterns coming together to create a town
tapestry or quilt, Mickey and Jordan were excited about making the event so colorful,”
Molly said.
That creativity went beyond aesthetics. For Molly, the branding was never just about
making the festival look beautiful. It was about reflecting the values of the organization
behind it.
“I wanted the event graphics to feel sincere regarding the subject matter, that the
event really was a celebration of, and an opportunity to learn about, other cultures
besides your own,” Molly said. “The event graphics told viewers that the event was
all about sharing, learning and exploring.”
While Molly was building the festival's visual identity, Tennessee Tech student Mason
Thomas was laying its digital foundation. Mason built the festival's website, designing
it to draw visitors in and make the event feel as vibrant and exciting online as it
would be in person. From the moment he took on the project, he said one goal drove
every decision he made.
“I approached this project with the goal of making anyone who visited the website
instantly want to come experience the festival,” Mason said.
For Mickey, who had given Mason only a brief description of what he needed, the result
exceeded every expectation.
“Mason Thomas took my input of ‘we want to design a website for a cultural festival’,
asked a few questions, and delivered a product that was well beyond our expectations,”
Mickey said.
Furthermore, the impact of TCRI’s work extended far beyond the festival grounds. Jordan
said the complete toolkit TCRI delivered, including flyers, social media assets, posters,
and the website, allowed the city and its partners to promote the event through every
possible channel.
“TCRI didn't just give us advice,” Jordan said. “They rolled up their sleeves and
built the engine that drove our marketing success.”
The festival’s success made one thing clear. This was just the beginning. Plans for
2027 are already taking shape, with international troupes from Poland, Sicily and
Puerto Rico set to participate and give the festival what Mickey calls “a true international
flavor”. For Mickey, the goal has always been bigger than a single event.
“Having diverse groups perform and educate the audience on their specific entertainment
genre makes for a more intellectually diverse community,” Mickey said. “It also encourages
acceptance and progressiveness in the community.”
Jordan agreed.
“An event like this provides a beautiful, unified space to celebrate the many diverse
cultures that make up the fabric of our community,” Jordan said. “It sends a clear
message that our community is a welcoming, vibrant and inclusive place to live, work
and visit.”
To learn more about the Black History Museum of Warren County visit bhmwc.org. To learn more about the McMinnville International Cultural Festival visit mcminnvilletnculturalfestival.com. To learn more about TCRI and how it supports communities across rural Tennessee
visit tntech.edu/tcri.