Flamenco Gitana, the Seattle-based flamenco dance company, will be one of the many colorful entertainment groups, featured at this year’s Renton River Days, which kicks off Friday.

“The wonderful thing about flamenco as an art form is that it expresses the totality of the human condition,” said Maria Gitana, company director and dancer. “There’s dances of happiness, dances of loss. There’s dances for every emotion we share as human beings.”

The Renton History Museum sought out Flamenco Gitana to perform on their sponsored Village Merchants Stage.

Elizabeth Stewart, museum director, was drawn to the performers saying, “The museum supports the event as a way to encourage diverse artistic performances at River Days, and because they are such a dynamic, exciting, and educational troupe.”

Renton River Days will feature 50 entertainment groups on two stages, during the three-day festival. There will be more than 70 arts and crafts booths, about 65 community information booths, hosted by non-profits and festival sponsors. The 11 food vendors include five new vendors: Crepe Chalet, Kidd Valley, Corn Dogs of the World, Pac Island Grill and Pat’s Philly Steak Sandwiches.

The Renton History Museum will have a booth at Liberty Park during River Days and the museum will be free and open extended hours. The museum will host a kids’ craft activity that involves making masks that represent the ethnic influences of Renton.

From noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, artist Kristin Schimik will be in the history museum booth, talking about the August art installation she’s doing at the Renton Mine Hoist Foundation.

The city comes alive as thousands of visitors and residents descend upon downtown for the three-day festival that plays out in Liberty Park, Cedar River Park, the Renton Community Center and throughout downtown Renton.

Maria Gitana has performed with the Renton History Museum before and she is confident festival-goers will enjoy her troupe’s performance.

“I know that the people will really enjoy it because it’s very passionate, fire-y and rhythmic.”

Flamenco is the music and dance that originates with the gypsies of southern Spain, she said.

Not only will there be musical and performing artists at River Days, but new to the Art Market this year, at the Renton Community Center, will be artists painting and sketching for crowds. In the “Meet the Artists” booth, artists like Urban Sketchers will display their craft.

Sonja Mejlaender, festival director, calls Urban Sketchers “the flash mob of sketching.”

“It’s great to have something new and very engaging,” she said.

Entertainers from the Wenatchee Youth Circus, in operation for 61 years, will perform in Cedar River Park at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Friday and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The circus has come to River Days almost all 28 years of the festival, Mejlaender said.

It takes hundreds of volunteers to pull-off River Days.

“There’s volunteerism all over the place that orchestrates and manages the festival,” Mejlaender.

It is also the fifteenth anniversary with title sponsor IKEA. In the wake of annual festivities disappearing due to corporate sponsorship, Mejlaender said “it speaks to the integrity of the festival, variety and support” that the City of Renton get funding annually.

Festival officials and the Renton Salvation Army is asking the community to come prepared to fight hunger locally. Once again festival-goers are asked to bring canned, non-perishable goods to help build “SalvArte,” the duck.

In 2012 at River Days, about 1,009 pounds of food were collected through this effort. Donations can be dropped off at the Renton Salvation Army Rotary Food Bank Information Booth in Gianini Stadium, in Liberty Park.

For more information about the festival, visit the IKEA Renton River Days website .