By Kaylee Alvarez
On Wednesday, April 9, Grand Rapids Community College celebrated the third Cultural Festival hosted by the International Language Club. The festival lasted from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and consisted of nine different booths highlighting China, Ireland, France, Ukraine, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Mexico, Philippines and Muslim culture.
“I’m glad we had a pretty decent amount of people come. A lot of people are saying it’s the most people they’ve seen, even compared to last year, which is great and I’m really excited everyone wanted to come,” said Kiana Vu, the 19-year-old president of the International Language Club.
CHINA
The booth representing Chinese culture was run by Sarah Kaufman, a 21-year-old education major and social media coordinator for the International Language Club. Kaufman’s booth was covered in red and dark blue as small letters hung from the outside of the tent along with a paper dragon. The first thing attendees were introduced to was the Chinese New Year and how they hand out red envelopes with a red knot inside symbolizing luck. Kaufman and her two helpers were handing out these knots as souvenirs for passing people, along with Chinese candies made from Guava trees.
“I love it,” Kaufman said about the festival. “I had two other helpers, so I felt like that it was like there was a lot of people there, and I felt like being outside, there was more access, like people could just come and go, and I thought it was great.”
IRELAND
The booth representing Ireland was run by 20-year-old Lacey Hendrie, the treasurer of the club, who is currently majoring in General Health and Exercise Science. Hendrie was assisted by her mother. The mother-daughter duo brought crafts such as how to make a Celtic Knot and small plants attendees could take home in tiny pots they colored on. Along with the crafts, Hendrie brought Irish Soda bread, sweet treats and Tetley tea to enjoy while others were able to learn about Irish culture thanks to the information board Hendrie made and displayed on the table.
Hendrie was passionate about her booth, saying,, “I was not born in Ireland but it is in my heritage. It was interesting to learn about though,” as she then showed a giant piece of paper covered in facts about Ireland and its ways of life.
FRANCE
In the booth representing France was 20-year-old Victoria Biadala who is currently majoring in communications. Students who could speak French or were currently studying it decided to test their knowledge and have conversations in French with Biadala, and she was more than happy to talk to them. Biadala’s booth featured a variety of souvenirs for people visiting and books
written in French.
Biadala said she was happy with the turnout of the festival and commended the organizer, saying,, “I love it! Kiana is perfect for our president. Almost like she was made for it.”
UKRAINE
The booth representing Ukrainian culture featured Alyssa Collazo and Viktoria Debeliuk and their sunflower-covered tables. Collazo mentioned that the theme was based on Easter since it is a very special holiday in Ukrainian culture. Along the table, there were several souvenirs and a variety of Ukrainian candy, along with some festive stickers.
HAITI
This booth has caught the eyes of many guests with its flashy colors and variety of flowers and plants. This booth was run by 19-year-old volunteer Athiei Kuot, and Sophia Brewer, an adviser of the festival and Dave Damien, who is originally from Haiti and could “talk for hours” about the culture and things he loves about Haiti. On the table, marbles were spread around in little bags as souvenirs for visitors. Brewer mentioned that the marbles represent a game that people down in Haiti play. It’s a game of chance where you draw a circle in the sand, put your marbles inside the circle, draw lines from the circle in the sand depending on how many players there are, than with your single marble travel along the line “shooting” your marble towards the pile of other marbles trying to be the last person with the most marbles. Along with the activity, they also had souvenirs such as miniature Haitian flags.
When asked about Haiti, Damien said it was the “best place to visit in the summer.”
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Near the beginning of the festival, there was a baseball-themed tent with bright red and yellow decor. Dionel Elias Panuncia wore a Dominican Republic flag around his shoulder, joined by Moraima Cortes Figuereo. Their theme was based on how important baseball is to the Dominican Republic. Later on in the day, you could see Panuncia playing a traditional game called “Baucau” with other students passing by as well.
Figuereo said the festival combined the best of many cultures: “Good music, good people, good vibe.”
MEXICO
A long line of students waited outside this tent for Kesia Rodríguez- Muñoz red and green tamales and aguas frescas. Not only could people enjoy the food, but the tent was also full of colorful Papel Picados. Papel Picados are traditional paper art that are usually displayed during festivals or parties. Her booth was up and running for the whole time the event took place, having people love the food so much they came back for more.
PHILIPPINES
Two friends, one guitar, lots of plants and delicious dried pineapple, that’s what KC Rabacal and Nadine Bustamante combined to create a fun atmosphere with their stand full of leaves, vines, Cornicks, dried pineapple, polvorón cookies and tons of flags. The two allowed people to come over and learn about Philippine culture while trying a few sweet treats. Later on, the duo also participated in an event by singing a song in Bustamante’s native language. They both sang. Rabacal had learned the language especially for today and amazed the crowd when performing.
MUSLIM
19-year-olds Marwa Hassan and Asmaa Mukhtar ran the booth that represented Muslim culture. A large paper full of trivia questions and facts about Muslim culture was presented as Hassan and Mukhtar greeted every guest with a smile and a friendly atmosphere. With the trivia they had on their board, prizes were won, and new knowledge was given out to all the students who stopped by to grab a snack or learn a bit more about the Muslim culture.
When asked about how they felt about this year’s festival, Hassan commented, “It’s been good,” while Mukhtar smiled in agreement and commented, “It’s so lovely.”
VIETNAM
Surrounded by a variety of colored lanterns stood Adena Nguyen, Lia Siu and Helen Dang’s colorful yellow and red booth caught the eyes of several students. The booth featured flags, souvenirs, cultural artifacts, candy and Bánh mì, a meat-filled Asian-based baguette. The girls also handed out sweet treats and coffee while answering some questions about Vietnamese culture and how it came to be and why it’s so important to them.
Alongside all the booths, good food and diverse cultures a variety of events were performed on a stage for everyone to enjoy while people sat down and enjoyed their food.
Students who weren’t eating would be waiting in line to get a chance to get a painting on their face from Erin Alvarez, based on different cultures.
