It was a picture-perfect day on the Drill Field Saturday.
On stage at the International Fiesta, Asian girls dressed in pink, shimmering mid-drift outfits pranced across the stage, flitting blue and yellow ribbons through the air in a traditional dance.
“It was really cute,” said graduate student Shikha Goel, who is originally from India, but has lived in Pearl for the last 10 years.
“It was very windy, but they performed it well,” added Vijay Shah, a graduate student from Gujarat, India. “I also got to see the American Indians dance for the first time.”
Shah brought his new digital camera to the event, capturing each event in detail. “Everybody should go,” he said. “I am from India, but it will teach me about the Chinese culture or Pakistani culture. It gives you more understanding of other cultures when you come-their food, their clothing, their traditions.”
More than 1,000 people attended the 15th annual event. “I think the good weather helped us a little bit, and it was crowded all day. It’s probably the biggest fiesta we’ve ever had,” said Alison Stamps, vice president of the World Neighbor’s Association, which hosted the event.
The fiesta began with a parade of flags Saturday morning, and followed with an Indian fashion show, traditional dance and song, a cooking competition. and crafts like finger-knitting. Booths of more than 30 organizations and 15 countries offered food, information and crafts like finger-knitting, Stamps said.
The Indian Student Association, for example, painted mehndi, or heena, which is similar to a painted-on temporary tattoo. “In India weddings they put mehndi over the bride’s hands and feet,” Goel said.
“I think part of the college experience is to broaden your horizons and experience new things. It helps to understand what other people in the world think or feel and it helps your understanding of world events, of history and of people of different cultures,” added Becky Whitten, an association board member.
Half the funds raised by the WPA from selling T-shirts, drinks and games will go toward tsunami relief efforts, Stamps said.
After the fiesta, the MSU Cricket Club defeated University of Mississippi’s cricket team 125 to 89.