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International Fest 2004 (Northwestern Chronicle)
« Thread Started on Oct 2, 2004, 2:55pm »

Around the world in four hours - The International Fest gives students an opportunity to experience other cultures
Posted 02-06-2004, 12:00
by Robert VerBruggen

A student rock group called The Rojak Experience was blasting away in the Norris University Center's McCormick Auditorium Sunday afternoon.

The band wasn't playing a Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix composition, however; the selection was by Malaysian rock act OAG. The performance began Northwestern's annual International Fest.

"It's to showcase the different cultures on this campus," said Tedd Vanadilok, 26, a graduate assistant to the Fest's sponsoring group, the Multicultural Center. "It's like traveling around the world in a couple of hours."

The event was part of Northwestern's annual Winter Carnival, according to the school's HereAndNow Web site.

The Fest's first two hours – 3 to 5 p.m. – featured musical performances by members of various cultural groups.

Acts included the Thai Club's rock band and the Hawai'i Club's traditional hula dancers.

"I really liked the Thai Club," said Ginnie Morrison of Glen Ellyn, Ill., a 19-year-old biology major in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "I think they're very talented."

Also, members of the Filipino group Kaibigan performed a dance while balancing glasses of water on their heads.

"Southeast Asia has an interesting culture that people in the U.S. don't really get to see," said Kaibigan dancer Mike Doligosa of Des Plaines, Ill., 22, a Weinberg sociology major.

Fifty-two people were present at the first musical performance. Roughly 80 came to the Louis Room at 5 p.m. to sample food prepared by members of cultural organizations, but attendance at both parts of the event was of a come-and-go nature.

Food sampling concluded at 7 p.m.

"I want to eat Chinese, Thai, Hawaiian – I like all of them," said Jean Hsu of Houston, 20, a Weinberg economics major. "Anything different."

Admission to the International Fest was free, but food tickets cost 50 cents each. Cultural groups set their own prices, but guidelines recommended one ticket for an appetizer or dessert and two tickets for an entrée, said Vanadilok.

"It is a tasting event," Vanadilok said. "You don't want them full on cuisines from two or three cultures."

Though 16 cultures were represented, they were geographically focused, said one student.

"The International Fest tends to be more Asian than anything else," said Akinori Hashimoto of Fullerton, Calif., a 20-year-old computer science major at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The composition of the audience reflected this.

Hashimoto was running the Japan Club's table at the event. "It's a chance for people to get better sushi, because the stuff at Norris isn't the best," he said.

Other represented groups included Alianza (an Hispanic group), the Om-Hindu Student Council, the Turkish Student Association and Cilipadi (a Malaysian group; The Rojak Experience is an offshoot).

"We've got tarik tea; it's like tea and condensed milk mixed together," said Cilipadi member and 19-year-old Reza Riduan of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, an electrical engineering major at McCormick. "It's usually drunk in Malaysia for breakfast."

The International Fest coincided with this year's Super Bowl by chance, according to Vanadilok. The 5:25 p.m. game was being shown in Norris's Gathering Space.

"The NFL is not on my list of people to consult," he said. "We're not seeing it as a detriment – it just gives the students a choice."

Vanadilok estimated the Fest to be in its tenth year. However, this is the first time the performances and food sampling were held separately.

"As performers, you thrive with an audience, and a lot of people would just pay attention to the food," he said. "They felt like background music."

The International Fest cost about $2,500 to $3,000 and was paid for with the Multicultural Center's budget, said Vanadilok. Most of the money was for food and to pay for the use of Norris equipment, he said.

Several students mentioned a lack of publicity for the event.

"I wish they advertised more," said Astrid Toha of Jakarta, Indonesia, a 20-year-old Weinberg art theory and practice major. "They put a lot of work into it."

Laura Blecha noted the same thing but was glad to learn about campus groups. She was at the Fest with a friend who had attended last year.

"I didn't hear about this," said the 20-year-old Medill student from Manhattan, Kansas. "It's really cool to see all the groups on campus; some of them I didn't even know existed."

URL: http://www.chron.org/tools/viewart.php?artid=926

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