The International Student’s Association annual Food Festival will take place Saturday from 6-9 p.m. in the Hunter Welcome Center. Food from 13 different countries will be featured.
Mai Anthes, vice president of ISA and junior psychology major from Okinawa, Japan, and Guinia Wooden, secretary of ISA and sophomore nursing major from Mission, are leading the committee for the Food Festival. Preparations for the event have been ongoing since the beginning of the semester.
“We hope that this event will cultivate a cultural awareness and appreciation for cuisine from around the world,” Anthes said. “Attendees will be encouraged to participate in activities that will allow for exchanges between students from varying backgrounds.”
Anthes said because of FDA regulations, home-cooked food can only be served for private parties. As such, only members or participants of the contributing organizations will receive the invitations. Students that are interested in attending the Food Festival can acquire tickets from ISA Chapel or other organizations including Students’ Association, Office of Multicultural Enrichment organizations and African Students’ Association.
Attendees will receive a passport with names of the countries represented. Questions are listed in the passport and if all are answered, the individual will be given a prize. There will be a total of 15 booths.
Adrian Patenaude, junior Ad/PR major from Phrae, Thailand, who is part of the planning committee, said, “The passports will control the amount of servings each person is allowed.”
Wooden said each person is allowed two servings of food from each country and additional two wild card servings to any booth.
Patenaude said she is looking forward to the event, as it will encompass different organizations and cultures.
“Rather than making the event just a food tasting party, we want the students to interact and learn more about the countries,” Wooden said.
In addition to the wide range of food, the committee has prepared trivia, games and activities for students to learn about other countries and have fun.
“We want to create a friendly, inviting atmosphere that will foster the exchange of culture between other international and domestic students so that the campus may be more enriched,” Anthes said.
