Festival of World Cultures:Integration, according to the diagram displayed at the Saja Yoga tent in the park, is centred at the top of the head, where what looked like a bouquet of coloured feathers fans out.

And integration, fans, and colour were what it was all about at the Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, all weekend. The Irish Times didn't see him in the huge throng, but it surely would have gladdened the heart of Conor Lenihan, our first integration Minister.

The perceptive yoga tent was pitched in the People's Park, opposite the sadly derelict old baths and the expanse of blue sea. The People's Park hosted many of the events yesterday and Saturday, and was a magnet particularly for families with young children, because of the face-painting and family- friendly buskers.

Acts from the Mariachi Real de Cocola band, resplendent in tight black suits and gold braid, to the Soweto Gospel Choir, in more casual and comfortable clothes, kept the park's stage swinging. Down the road, the main stage, on the seafront in Newtownsmith, had a parade of toe-tappers and booty-shakers, from masters of Polish rap and reggae, Vavamuffin, to Algerian megastar Rachid Taha.

MC Dr Rumba, a Nigerian who is proud to say just that he is "from Africa", worked hard to get his willing but inept crowd moving and grooving. "Jaysus Christ!" sounded very Irish as his exasperation showed at the locals' lack of shimmy. A man named Mike in the crowd was acclaimed for his dancing skills . . . but he turned out to be from Poland.

The heavens were kind to the festival, now in its seventh year, and the rains that have characterised the "summer" of 2007 held off, with even phases of baking sunshine.

As always, the music was the big draw, but other parts of the festival are becoming increasingly important. Yesterday hugs for free, an unlisted "event" on the seafront, proved a big draw. A calm young man in white had a long queue of all ages anxious for a cuddle.

The environmental aspect this year took the form of a free show called "Cool Earth", held in the council offices opposite the Dart station. SlowFood, Amnesty, Ecobaby, Oxfam, Eco-Unesco, even Shell to Sea, had stalls and the opportunity to put their messages, and sometimes merchandise, across. "There's a very nice vibe here. We haven't had such a reaction anywhere," said Tadhg McGrath of Shell to Sea. "People are really into it. But Dún Laoghaire seems to be a very liberal place."

Lilian Relouska, originally from the Czech Republic, was also impressed. "This is great, I'm getting a lot of good information, and the whole festival is very good," she said.

Other serious events were presentations by the Islamic and Sikh communities. Both suffered from lack of publicity, but those who turned up were very keen to learn, according to Sister Rabia Patel from the Islamic Cultural Centre, based at the mosque in Clonskeagh. Harpreet Singh, president of the Sikh Council of Ireland, led its presentation yesterday, and said that the Garda turban debate had been absorbing all their energies in the past fortnight.

"I think it's just that people do not know about Sikh culture," Singh said. "What has been shown is a lot of ignorance, even up to the level of Minister." There are about 1,000 Sikhs in Ireland, compared to half a million in Britain, so it is understandable that many people still don't realise the importance of the turban, he said.

Festival highlights included the North Strand Klezmer band, which kicked the festival off on Friday night with a sardines-only sellout (though it was free, like 70 per cent of the events) at the newly-refurbished Royal Marine Hotel. The hotel was the star of its own show on Saturday night, when an ambitious 3-D video show projected images which transformed the structure, as Egyptian figures, jungle birds and Chinese characters came and went in the darkness. This presentation was the work of Emilio and Sebastian Arteaga, from Uruguay.

The festival is of huge mutual benefit to Dún Laoghaire and to Ireland's growing heterogeneity.

Those whose homes suffered from streets being blocked off might not agree entirely.

But the festival shows Dún Laoghaire at its best, and utilises every bit of the harbourside town, even its unlovely old shopping centre in Marine Road.

Festival director Jody Ackland was quietly delighted with the triumph of this year. "I feel great, this year has been amazing," she said, looking at the preliminary attendance figures of 100,000 people on Saturday and over 140,000 on Sunday. (The figures come from ticket sales, CCTV film and Garda estimates). "There's been amazing co-operation from all the stakeholders, and our team has been very slick," said Ackland.

She is now off to west Africa for six months, a sabbatical, but which will likely produce some acts for next year's event.

She will become FWC artistic director, and Nollaig O'Fionghaile has been appointed general manager from 2008.

The festival costs less than €1 million to stage, quite a feat considering the 800-plus artists involved.