The Student Union was bustling with life on Saturday, as table upon table began to fill up with cultural foods from several different countries. What better way to spend Family Weekend than to take part in the 17th Annual International Festival? Of course, the food itself was good bait if the performances were not!
RPI students represent over 70 different countries, from Greece to Japan to the Philippines. Along with the food and facts from each culture, the audience was treated with various artifacts from different countries. Furthermore, performances from different cultures were held inside the Union, with a range of dances and traditional music.
Each table was furnished with traditional items including Indian jewelry, Malaysian batiks, and an offer of Henna drawings from the Muslim Women Association. In all cases, parents, children, and students alike enjoyed their time roaming the tables and learning more about the representative cultures.
Not all the performances were put on by RPI students, however. The Colombian Youth Dancers entertained with their sashay of colorful dresses and their baskets of fruit.The audience also watched professional Greek dancers perform five dances native to the country’s islands.
The RPI student associations also performed with just as much gusto, with traditional Filipino and Indian dancing as well as a showing of the Malaysian “celebration of new life and family.”
There was also a new act in this year’s festival, as the Nigerian Student Association performed a dance and a fashion show for the audience. Other performances also included Chinese traditional violin music and Malaysian contemporary dancing.
Of course, the food should not be taken for granted! In fact, those who skipped breakfast in the morning would face a buffet when they arrived at the Union.
If you had a craving for sweets, the Alianza Latina table was sure to provide you with flan! Should you fancy some rice or meat? The Japanese Student Association had plenty of rice balls to offer, and the Philippine American League had a scrumptious barbecue that disappeared just as quickly as it was cooked. And, if you had been thirsty, the Korean Christian Fellowship would have gladly quenched your thirst with some bubble tea!
Overall, the event was a wonderful addition to a weekend packed with events, and those who missed it should be sorely disappointed.
