Editorial by Kernel staff. E-mail [email protected].

Sunday is the last night of the Spotlight Lexington Festival, and consequently, downtown Lexington’s collective merry-making will end.

Our culture is flawed. Most celebrating is confined to small social circles, fraternities or a few friends meeting for cocktail hour.

The downtown activity brought Lexington natives and international visitors together for a communal party — and the open container policy is certainly an added bonus.

Consider Mexico, for example, where “fiestas” take place in zocalos (town squares) frequently, and entire populations gather to forget the daily drudgery and celebrate life.

Mexican writer Octavio Paz says, “These celebrations become the only luxuries that help people to forget about poverty.”

The wealthy rub elbows next to the working class at the bar. Streets are alive with music, dancing and jovial drunks. Racial and economic divides dissipate to form a collective experience.

The music is a celebration of the arts and local talent, and since all shows are free, the entertainment is even more liberating.

The festival is finally attracting UK students downtown, and we hope the city government takes note.

Spotlight Lexington has been our fleeting encounter with a party of the masses (aside from tailgating, but even tailgating is confined to social circles and the confines of a parking lot).

Take advantage of this last weekend of fiestas, and hopefully, Lexington will take note and provide more entertainment that entices UK students to stay on the weekends.