Sunday, you'll be able to taste foods from Africa and Japan, watch a Thai puppet show, and hear Native American Coyote tales, all as part of the 2007 International Food and Culture festival presented by the University of Montana's Foreign Student and Scholar Services and International Students Association.
The International Culture and Food Festival takes place from noon to five p.m. Sunday on all three floors of the University Center, and is the "anchor event" of the newer International Week, said Mona Mondava, festival director. "We've been doing this about fifteen years now," she said, remarking that the event has grown to include four different, simultaneous components to keep visitors "happily busy" the full five hours.
The festival starts with a "World Flag Parade" led by Missoula's Celtic dragon Pipe Band. There will be hot food samples from 20 student organizations, a non-stop international culture show, "Children's World," and an informational bazaar featuring 40 different cultural, student and community organizations.
An exciting aspect of the festival is the non stop international culture show in the UC Ballroom, said Mondava, which highlights cultural performances from around the world.
The local Thai community, she said, will be conducting a fashion show using traditional textiles brought in just for this event. In addition, there will be drumming, music and dance from Poland, Arabia, Japan and other cultures, all on stage in the ballroom, with one act following the next for the full length of the festival. The activities, said Mondava, "showcase the talents and contributions of our international students."
"Without the students, there wouldn't be a festival," adds Kofi Abaidoo, president of the International Student Association. The students act as coordinators and performers for the event, he said, beginning the previous semester to ensure the festival is a success. The ISA, Mondava said, is one of the oldest student groups on campus, with approximately 500 student members.
New to the event this year is "Children's World," in the second-floor UC Commons. Up to 15 booths will offer kids of all ages the opportunity for hands-on intercultural learning activities such as making Hawaiian friendship leis and having their hands painted with henna in the Indonesian mehndi form.
A six-page program, free with the $2 admission charge, describes all the activities and events.
The festival "is a way for the International students to give back to the community," Abaidoo said. The university and community provide many services to acclimate international students to life in Missoula, and this, he said, is their thank you gift for that assistance.
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