In 1981, the ACT Ethnic Communities Council held the first Multicultural Festival, a one-day event in Civic to celebrate Australia Day.[3][4][5] By 1988, the festival had grown to host about 40 international food stalls, music and dancing.[6] That year it was held in the Civic end of Ainslie Avenue, and along London Circuit in front of Civic Square, and also included a parade led by Chinese lion dancers.[7] In 1997, the newly established ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs staged the first week-long Festival as a means of celebrating Canberra and Australia's cultural diversity.[citation needed] In 2010, the Festival became a three-day event and remains that duration.[8] In 2012, the festival hosted a record 350 stalls.[9] The 2012 festival was also the first to allow cultural kava use, as a trial.[10] The ACT Government announced in 2013 that the kava trial had been a success and there would be a permanent lifting of the ban on the drink at the National Multicultural Festival.[11] The Out In Canberra People's Choice Awards in 2013 named the National Multicultural Festival Favourite Attraction and Event.[12] Weather at the festival is usually hot and dry,[13] with organisers handing out 18,000 bottles of water to patrons at the 2014 festival.[14] The festival has grown over time to become one of the most successful multicultural festivals in Australia.[15] The 2014 event reportedly injected $5 million into the ACT economy and contributed to an additional 10,000 overnight stays in Canberra by interstate and international visitors.[16]