The 30th Annual International Festival

The 30^th annual international festival was organized on the 26^th of April by the Multicultural Affairs council of the AS to promote and recognize the cultural diversity amongst the students of California State University, Chico. The event was held at the downtown plaza for the first time instead of its usual location at the Kendall Hall lawn. It started at around 11am and went on till about 5pm. This was the 3^rd time I had the opportunity of going for the festival and representing my culture, that is, the Sri Lankan Student Association.

It was a fun-filled day with good music, rich culture and GREAT FOOD!!! There were many different booths represented by students from various cultures such as Sri Lanka, India, Native America, Hawaii, Philippines, Mexico, Hmong, Mein, the Pan-African region and Southeast region. The students represented their cultures by dressing up in their traditional clothes, decorating their booths, and selling food and other items.  Being an international student myself, it was very enriching to see and talk to my fellow students from other cultures.

At the center stage there were many musical performances by bands such as the Brothers of Baladi, the Lloyd Family Prayers as well as dance performances by some of the students. One of the dances performed, was by the Filipino students. The girls were wearing white dresses and dancing in-between long bamboo sticks. Also one of the bands played the famous tune of the Rolling Stones, Paint it Black, which is one of my personal favorites.

The best moment of the event for me was when the organizers announced that the 1^st place for the best food goes to the Sri Lankan Student Association!! I was actually surprised because this year we had a much smaller menu than the previous years. I guess our famous ‘Chicken Kottu’ did the trickJ. (A kottu is basically cut up tortillas mixed with stir fried vegetables, egg and a meat of your choice).

It was a great and fun event that made the whole of downtown come alive. If you missed out this year you should definitely check it out next year.