FAITHS and cultures from around the world were explored in public, at the second annual York International Festival this weekend.

The festival, organised by York St John University, saw hundreds of people take to Parliament Street to perform music and demonstrations, including Japanese drumming, Polish church music, Chinese opera, Indonesian dance and an African children’s choir.

Shoppers packed into a specially-erected tent at the bottom of Parliament Street, to watch the performances and learn more about the cultures on show, with a number of stalls providing information on Buddhism, meditation, local churches, Indian culture and an Indonesian food stall.

Chris Cullwick is one of the festival organisers from York St John University’s Chaplaincy, who worked with City of York Council and a number of community organisations to put on the festival.

He said: “We’re proud to be involved in the festival. This is the second year; it was a great success so we’re doing it again."