He must have been 12 or 13 years old, a boy who appeared to be of South Asian heritage with dark spiked hair and bronze skin tone clothed in American shorts, a Burmese-type tunic and running shoes. While taking in the sights and sounds of Houston World Refugee Day at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center Saturday, I made eye contact with him. He grinned ear-to-ear and sprinted to join his friends and family, his tongue blue from eating a snow cone.

The boy was missing an eye. Physical scars in his calf hinted that, despite his obvious good spirits, there's more to his story.

He was one of 700 children and adults representing 10 countries and various ethnic groups at this annual gathering that stitched a colorful cultural fabric, one which bestows strength and meaning to the city of Houston. Out of 60,000 refugees who debark in the United States, the majority fleeing from Myanmar (formerly Burma), Bhutan, Somalia, Iraq and Congo, 3,000 put down roots here making Houston the largest host of émigrés in Texas.

Music, al fresco dance performances, art, exhibitions, lectures, children activities, a fashion show, handcrafted pieces from 11 artisan groups and 25 informational booths added to the vivid grounds of the community center.

Two charming ladies from the Alianza de Organizaciones Guatemaltecas chatted up a storm about their Guatemalan village and explained the patterns in the bright coin purses, shawls and textiles that are traditional of the highlands. The Community Cloth displayed weaved pieces by the Karenni and hand-knitted fashion accessories and plush rugs by Bhutanese Nepali and Iraqui refugees.

KHOU 11 News' Lily Jang, who is a Vietnamese refugee herself, emceed the fair; her presence an example of the opportunities Houston affords its residents. In a lecture, guest speaker Dr. Thanh Chang shared his plight from Vietnam, the challenges of being displaced from his birthplace and his educational path to becoming an emergency room physician.

Cambodian refugee Yani Rose Keo's life and work as the leader of the resettlement services nonprofit Alliance for Multicultural Community Services was honored with the world premiere of Houston Grand Opera's New Arrivals, commissioned through the Song of Houston "East + West" project. Dressed in fine Cambodian attire, a lavender embroidered top with sheer sleeves, and sitting next to her husband Saoroth, she could not contain her tears as the company encapsulated the essence of her journey on stage, clasping her hands and bowing humbly to the audience to give and accept praise.

Insistent rhythmic drums, an instrument fashioned from an animal horn and chanting ushered in a dance by the Karen Traditional Dance Group performed by children, whose long white robes adorned with red threads, braids and lace handkerchiefs drew attention to the expressive hand movements typical of the dances of their ethnic heritage.

You had no choice but to groove alongside the powerful ladies of the KoumanKe'le' African Dance & Drum Ensemble, whose djembe drummers punished those skins while the danseurs, wearing neon-colored bead skirts and tops, carried off choreography not suitable for the weak minded.

Hosted by a conglomerate of resettlement agencies and nonprofits — Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, Bilingual Education Institute, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Houston Community College, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston and YMCA International Services in the mix — the Houston World Refugee Day celebration, which Mayor Annise Parker praised with a proclamation, culminated 2012 World Refugee Week, an awareness campaign that focused on the refugee experience.

Yet amid the zestful bounty of international folklore, calling this fair a celebration is a paradox. There's nothing celebratory about people driven away from their homeland due to political conflict, racism, persecution, war or violence.

What we can celebrate is Houston's welcoming attitude toward people of all races and backgrounds, where they can be a part of the city's multicultural mosaic. Not an assimilated fondue of a melting pot, but perhaps a Frito pie, where all the individual elements retain their essence yet work deliciously together.

Watch a short video featuring dances by the Karen Traditional Dance Group and the KoumanKe'le' African Dance & Drum Ensemble at Houston World Refugee Day 2012: