The International Festival

I must admit, I tried to come up with a somewhat creative title... clearly that endeavour failed. 

The International Festival is the coolest event I've attended at Saint Mike's so far. It is sponsored by a number of organizations on campus, but the event itself was part of a series conducted by the Center for Multicultural Affairs. I wasn't really sure what to expect, and what I got definitely was not what I had anticipated at all. The festival is held in the Tarrant Fieldhouse - the building attached to Ross, the gymnasium. Upon entering, I was immediately struck by the flags hung around the balcony, numbering at least fifty if I were to take a guess. I actually feel bad; I should have been able to recognize far more of the flags than I was able to. When your eyes stop staring at the multitude of colors up at the balcony, you are greeted with the sight of a stage, a lot of tables for seating, and two loooong banquet tables with seemingly endless dishes of food. 

The performances would be the best part of the night, but I (as previously mentioned) am always more interested in food and the festival food was AMAZING. Performances ranged from a drumming class held here at Saint Mike's, to a Bollywood performer, to a trio of Hawaiian dancers. I only wish that I was more knowledgeable about the cultures displayed, so that I knew more of the meaning behind their movements.

Two of the three Hawaiian dancers. They are holding the Hawaiian version of maracas.

The male Hawaiian dancer; yes, he is actually blowing into a conch shell!

Members of a Korean culture school also performed; these are their teachers performing a drum routine.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the food I ate; I was more concerned about trying everything before it became cold than I was about documenting just how much I tried. But I can tell you that probably around twenty countries, more or less, were represented in the different types of food offered. Although I did not like everything I tried, I did try almost everything, and most of it was delicious!

If you are up here when the International Festival comes around again, I definitely recommend going! After all, how many chances do you have to eat your way around the world in four hours?

Stay tuned for my next (theatre-related) post!

Laura