More than 3,000 WMU students, faculty, staff and Kalamazoo community members enjoyed a global open house at the 20th anniversary of Western Michigan University's annual International Festival March 22. The festival was a showcase of the music, food and fashions of 15 countries spanning five continents.

WMU President John Dunn, second from left, with students in native garb

Planning for the festival began in November 2008. Members of 15 WMU international student attended weekly meetings to plan the festival and to enlist more than 70 volunteers to work at the festival. Nick DiFranco, the international festival coordinator, witnessed all the hard work by the students and volunteers that lent to the festival's great success.

"The booths created by the registered student organizations were fantastically decorated," DiFranco said. "All the food was very delicious and the performances were dazzling. Having the opportunity to present and share these cultures from all over the world with well over 3,000 people made all the hard work worthwhile."

Malaysian fashions and flag

One of the most popular attractions of International Festival are the native foods offered by each booth. The Malaysian Student Association tried to share a piece of every culture Malaysia represents.

"Malaysia is a multicultural country," said Sue-Lynn Ng, president of the Malaysian Student Association. "We worked hard to represent each of these cultures through the food. We served what is traditional, but also what is popular within our country."

The booth featured prawn fritters, a tea snack that is sold along the roadside, Coconut poppers, a sweet desert, as well as pulled tea, which is a very popular drink in Malaysia. "Pulled tea has its name because the tea is literally pulled to create a broth," Ng said. "It is sold everywhere and everyone loves it in our country."

The Thai Student Association considers International Festival a good way to showcase Thai foods many Americans haven't tried, like green curry chicken and rice, Thai chicken salad and Thai tea.

"The food we are serving is part of the traditional Thai culture," said Kunyaluk Lertsirimongreolchai, a Thai student working on a master's degree in marketing. "We have a great time making the food and showing off Thai fashions. International Festival is always a lot of fun."

Each of the international student organizations prepared their food in campus kitchens under the supervision of WMU Dining Services staff. Preparation began on Saturday morning around 8 a.m.

"Working in the kitchen is a blast," said Gregorio Amaro, who is majoring in global and international studies and engineering graphics and is a member of the Japanese Student Association. "We work alongside all of the other international organizations and see what everyone else is making. The atmosphere in the kitchen is so much fun and it gets us excited for the day."

Each year, International Festival hosts a competition for "best booth decorations." The booths are decorated with native colors and include displays of cultural items, as well as native dishes. The Indian Student Association constructed the front of their booth to look like the Taj Mahal. The Japanese Student Association built a torii display, a gate that appears in most Japanese gardens. The Chinese Student Association hung traditional Chinese lanterns and students working the booth wore shirts with the Panda Bear, the national animal of China.

Dominican Student Association table

The judging of "Best Booth" resulted in a tie between the Malaysian Student Association for their representation of a traditional house in a Malaysian village setting and the Dominican Student Association's booth showcasing traditional Dominican culture.

Throughout the festival cultural dances and performances were presented on stage in the ballroom. The festival opened with a flag parade, where students proudly carried the flag of their home countries. Following the parade were several dance performances, including a Malaysian martial arts dance, a Chinese folk dance, a Japanese fan dance and a Middle Eastern belly dance.

A fashion show featuring traditional clothing from many countries attracted a large crowd as students displayed traditional clothing from their home countries. Hawaiian, Saudi Arabian, Japanese and Dominican Republic fashions and costumes were a few of the countries represented during the fashion show.

"This was my first International Festival," said Lisa Gorski, a senior majoring in human resources. "I was so impressed with all the work students put into their booths. The food and dancing were amazing. The festival has taught me a lot about culture that I never knew before in a fun and exciting way."

The funds raised during International Festival go to each of the student organizations and to help pay for the cost of the festival. "Everyone at the festival worked very hard," said Joe Kelly, vice president of the International Programs Council. "It’s great to see everyone have a good time and enjoy all of the activities."

Story by Julia Valentine

MORE PHOTOS 

Parade of Flags

Many hands worked in the campus kitchen preparing native dishes