Stroll down Pedestrian Walkway on Friday and travel the globe.
Fourteen countries will be represented in this year’s International Festival. Students from each country will bring their culture to campus through food, performance and crafts.
“(The festival) gives international students a good opportunity to share their own traditions and culture and educate the locals about it,” said Mariana Garciagodoy, graduate assistant at the International House.
Among the booths will be performances by various student and outside groups. Expositions will include salsa, flamenco and Egyptian belly dancing. These performances are a favorite of Garciagodoy’s, as well as fellow I-House graduate assistant, Maria Lungu.
And right there with the performances? The food.
“Oh, the food,” Lungu laughed. “Especially the Indian food.”
Lungu, a graduate law student, said the festival and other I-House events give students a chance to experience other cultures with the entire campus, something which adds to UT’s diversity. She added there was a significant increase in the number of international students within the last year.
“We’re fortunate to have the amount of diversity that we do, especially in this area,” Lungu said. “Although this is a really beautiful area, it’s not the first area you would think to go when you’re an international student. The surrounding areas of Knoxville may not be as diverse as the campus itself.”
Homogeny aside, Lungu and Garciagodoy agreed Knoxville quickly felt like home to them and credited the welcoming spirit of the locals as a “southern thing.”
Awareness of various cultures on and off campus is what the International House strives to create. Garciagodoy said a lot of importance lies in exposure to other cultures and travel “makes you more open to new experiences.”
And if you can’t travel the world, the festival, she said, is the next best thing.
“You get to travel a little without having to leave,” Garciagodoy said.
The international festival is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. The event is free to browse. All money made from food purchases will be used by the specific organization for further international events. There will also be giveaways throughout the day. For a complete list of events and countries represented, visit (LINK: http://ihouse.utk.edu/international-festival/).
