The International Students’ Association’s food festival will do more than bring together diverse people and tastes. This year, the event is a joint effort with Wishing Well, and all proceeds will go to providing clean water for people in developing countries.
The purpose of the event is to help raise awareness about the diversity at ACU and to build relationships around a table of international cuisine, said Ken Lake, senior accounting major from Tokyo.
The banquet-style festival will start at 6 p.m. March 27 in the north lobby of the Williams Performing Arts Center; it is open to anyone who wants to attend. Seating is limited to about 150 people and guests are asked to dress in semi-formal attire, Lake said.
Guests will be treated to a variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts from all over the world. Food isn’t the only attraction, though; a jazz band will also perform. Lake said the true focus of the evening, though, is fellowship.
“We really want people to come together and mingle with each other,” Lake said. “One of the best ways we thought we could get that interaction was by bringing food in as an icebreaker.”
Lake said the waiters are going to be one of the main forms of entertainment. Each one is encouraged to talk with the guests as much as they can in order to spark conversation.
“We don’t really have much entertainment planned, but we want it to be that way. We want everyone to talk to each other rather than focus on entertainment,” Lake said. “If the waiters can talk more to the guests, then it will help get these conversations going.”
Kat Kundmueller, senior psychology major from Fort Worth, said she appreciates events like this as a way to mix several of her interests.
“I like eating food, and I like meeting new people,” Kundmeuller said. “Having something like this would be a good way to do both while also helping a good cause.”
Tickets to the event are $10 dollars and will be sold in the McGlothlin Campus Center on March 26Â until 5 p.m. Lake said all funds raised will be given to the ACU chapter of Wishing Well, a group that helps build wells for people in Africa.
