Spring Break
Food, cultures shared at annual cultural fest
Annual spring festival gives student organizations chance to share cultures
Meg Robison
Issue date: 5/14/07 Section: News
The MU Quad was packed Sunday with people meandering booth to booth to jump rope, play cricket and experience the many different cultural tastes at the ISOSU Annual Spring Festival.
"[It's] a celebration of the cultural groups at OSU," said Sara Haines, ISOSU public relations coordinator.
There were 14 different student groups represented at the festival, and each organization ran its own booth. The theme of the festival was "Hidden Treasures" of the cultures represented.
A variety of foods was available throughout the day, including curry chicken kabobs with rice, hummus with pitas, chile rellenos and crepes with ice cream.
Each booth had a different cultural flavor. The Chinese Student Association gave out fruit jelly, white rabbit candy and sunflower seeds, and the Turkish Student Association shared Turkish Delight with the students.
Most booths displayed maps and pictures of their respective countries or books pertaining to their cultures. The Thai, African and Indonesian student associations had figurines on display.
Parvathy Binoy, ISOSU's co-development coordinator, was the master of ceremonies for the performances that took place.
Students performed a traditional Romanian dance, incorporating audience members for the Eastern European circle dance, in addition to performances of a Japanese yosakoi dance and an Indian Bollywood dance.
Professional performers were brought in for the festival also. Celtic violinists, Taiko drummers and a Zimbabwean dance troupe entertained the crowd.
"It is multicultural," said Matieb Alanazi, vice president of the Saudi Student Association. "It is interesting to see people exchanging information from other cultures. It is very peaceful. I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself."
Many students who visited last year's festival returned for this year's event.
"It's cool to see the different cultures represented at OSU," said Ellen Ballantine, a pre-mechanical engineering major. "I came last year and just had to come back again."
"[It's] a celebration of the cultural groups at OSU," said Sara Haines, ISOSU public relations coordinator.
There were 14 different student groups represented at the festival, and each organization ran its own booth. The theme of the festival was "Hidden Treasures" of the cultures represented.
A variety of foods was available throughout the day, including curry chicken kabobs with rice, hummus with pitas, chile rellenos and crepes with ice cream.
Each booth had a different cultural flavor. The Chinese Student Association gave out fruit jelly, white rabbit candy and sunflower seeds, and the Turkish Student Association shared Turkish Delight with the students.
Most booths displayed maps and pictures of their respective countries or books pertaining to their cultures. The Thai, African and Indonesian student associations had figurines on display.
Parvathy Binoy, ISOSU's co-development coordinator, was the master of ceremonies for the performances that took place.
Students performed a traditional Romanian dance, incorporating audience members for the Eastern European circle dance, in addition to performances of a Japanese yosakoi dance and an Indian Bollywood dance.
Professional performers were brought in for the festival also. Celtic violinists, Taiko drummers and a Zimbabwean dance troupe entertained the crowd.
"It is multicultural," said Matieb Alanazi, vice president of the Saudi Student Association. "It is interesting to see people exchanging information from other cultures. It is very peaceful. I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself."
Many students who visited last year's festival returned for this year's event.
"It's cool to see the different cultures represented at OSU," said Ellen Ballantine, a pre-mechanical engineering major. "I came last year and just had to come back again."
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