Carleton's International Festival is Saturday

Community invited to annual International Festival this weekend

Carleton College will celebrate its 11th Annual International Festival on Saturday, May 17 in the Great Space of the Sayles Hill Campus Center. The International Festival has become a Carleton tradition that grows stronger and bigger each year. Taking place from 2 to 4 p.m., this year’s festival will feature a spectacular range of international cuisine, music, performances, activities, and information tables. The celebration is free and the public is invited to attend.

The theme for the festival this year is One Love. “The idea is that International Festival is a time for all of Carleton to come together and celebrate the rich backgrounds of all our students. It is a time for us to be one,” explains Ken Geiger ’09, one of the main student coordinators of the event.

The festival will comprise of food-sampling, a series of performances, and other student activities. There will be about thirty-five different international dishes available, from over fifteen different countries. The Carleton Language Associates have volunteered to prepare dishes to represent their native countries as well. Since a large turnout is expected, all food-sampling and activities will take place on a first-come-first-served basis.

There will be approximately seventeen performances, including:

• salmunori, Korean traditional drumming
• a traditional tabla (North Indian drum) solo performance
• a Vietnamese fan dance
• traditional Chinese instruments
• German singing

The festival will also feature a variety of activities. Along with a booth selling postcards made from photographs donated by international students from their native countries, participants can:

• get an Indian traditional henna drawing on their palms
• have a Burmese makeover, or
• help themselves to delicious Chinese tea and cookies while enjoying a film screening

As in previous years, all proceeds generated from the festival will be donated to a charitable organization. The year, the recipients will be Carleton’s Microfinance Club and the College’s Mortar Board chapter, which funds schooling for underprivileged children in India.

This colorful and exciting annual event is sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Life and the International Student Programs, along with support from many Carleton offices, departments, and student organizations. For more information, call (507) 222-4495. For photos from last year's festival, see this story from Carleton's Shout web magazine.