The 30^th annual International Fiesta made a triumphant return on April 2 to Mississippi State University’s Drill Field after a two-year hiatus.
Hosted by the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the World Neighbors Association, the International Fiesta is a celebration of Starkville’s cultural diversity.
The first International Fiesta was held in 1992 to promote cross-cultural interactions between community residents and international students beyond academics.
This year, people could tour booths that provided a glimpse into cultures from countries like Nepal, China, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.
Attendees had the chance to enjoy cross-cultural connection through the new spices of traditional food, the kaleidoscope of traditional clothing and displays of impassioned music and dance.
Xue Xu, an assistant professor of chemistry, is involved in the Starkville Chinese School which recently began meeting again after the pandemic.
At the event, the school had a booth that offered authentic Chinese food, and their students to performed violin recitals and Kung Fu on stage.
The booth soon sold out of food.
Xu said the school’s display of Chinese culture was a success and wished events like the International Fiesta were more common.
“Based on the feedback we got from students, they didn’t even know we had such a good, rich background in the university. I think this is the university showing students what we have,” Xu said.
The fiesta featured a competition where three teams of judges picked winners for the best main dish, dessert and booth display.
The Sri Lankan Student Association won first in every category.
The Sri Lankan booth displayed a large, flame-orange Raksha demon mask, which depicts glory and prosperity.
The main dish was kottu, a stir fry with scrambled egg, onions, chilies, spices, vegetables and sometimes meat. The dessert was watalappan, a caramel pudding that used jaggery palm sugar as the sweetener, a flavor unique to Sri Lanka.
A community of about 30 members of the Sri Lankan Association worked hard to balance their graduate studies and the production of their booth so that the attendees of the festival could get a taste of Sri Lanka.
Samadhi Nawalage, a member of the association, said they are grateful for the opportunity to meet new people, experience other cultures and exhibit her culture.
“It was just a glimpse of our culture. The fact it was appreciated like that meant a lot to me,” Nawalage said. “On behalf of all the Sri Lankans, it meant a lot to us.”
Niki Ye, a sophomore chemical engineer major and secretary of the Pan-Asian Student Association, ran her organization’s booth, which offered Asian food from various cultures.
The organization was established this semester to create an inviting environment for ethnic minorities within MSU’s Asian student population, Ye said.
Ye said in predominantly white areas like Starkville, it is especially important for minorities to gather and celebrate their cultures.
“Minorities work best when they work with each other, so events like these where we’re all in the same place and have the same goal to feed people and make people happy,” Ye said, “I feel like that’s super important— sharing a part of ourselves that makes us unique.”
As a founder of a new organization, Ye understood the importance of events like the fiesta in increasing her organization’s outreach.
The Pan-Asian Student Association gained three times in profit what it spent on materials while connecting with potential new members, Ye said.
Mary Alexander, a sophomore communication major, operated the face painting booth.
Alexander said the cross-cultural opportunities the International Fiesta offers are a gift everyone should experience.
“I feel like it’s very easy to just get caught up in Mississippi or just the United States, when really the world is so huge,” Alexander said. “I think my favorite part was how receptive everybody was to all the different cultures.”
As the number of cases caused by the Coronavirus Delta variant started declining, in February, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center decided to set the festival for April.
Despite a short planning period and concerns over turnout, the number of attendees at this year’s festival was as high as ever, HCDC members said.
Kei Mamiya, interim director of the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, said the International Fiesta made a strong return from its two-year hiatus.
“I think we made this event very special,” Mamiya said.