International Festival at MSU coming earlier this year
Nov. 10—MANKATO — Mariana Dermenji said she would love for area people to experience what international students at Minnesota State University have to offer.
As an international student herself — hailing from Moldova in Eastern Europe — Dermenji is a strong advocate for the annual Mankato Area International Festival at MSU.
"I believe it's an amazing opportunity to introduce your culture to others. And the food," she said. "Food is probably the most favorite part of everyone. Whether you're an international or domestic student, everybody likes to try new foods."
New foods will be available to try earlier this year, as the event returns on Nov. 13 from 11-3 p.m. at the Centennial Student Union. Previously the event was in the spring.
"International Education Week is Nov. 14-18 and it is celebrated all over the world. We wanted to kick off that week with the festival and move it to the fall semester," said Jacy Fry, director of the Kearney International Center at MSU.
"We wanted to lump both of those really big events and activities together so that we could just continue celebrating international education for the whole week."
This year's theme is "Many Nations, One Game" in honor of the World Cup happening the weekend after.
"It's a pretty big deal for our students," Fry said. "They love the World Cup."
The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with performances by students, alumni and off-campus groups. The first round of performances will end at 12:30 p.m., with the next round starting half an hour after.
The performances will be held in the Ostrander Auditorium and the CSU Ballroom.
Also at 11:30 a.m., seven multicultural groups will be cooking and serving traditional food.
The groups present will be Sri Lanka, Japan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Korea and Bangladesh.
Attendees also can visit different cultural booths and community vendors.
Parents are invited to bring their young ones along for Children's World, a signature activity at the event for kids to make crafts and play games from around the world.
"There's different tables that represent different countries and they will be working with our students and making crafts," Fry said. "It's a fun time for the kids."
Fry encourages both the MSU community and general public to attend the free event.
"Outside of our university, we're not the most diverse place. But I think it's great for folks in the community to be able to come to campus and experience a little bit of the world around them," she said. "They don't have to travel to Sri Lanka or Japan. We're bringing it to them. These students came here to study and are excited to share their culture, their language and their food. I'm hopeful it will inspire someone to consider taking a trip or open their eyes and help them accept those around them."
Dermenji agreed, adding it's a great opportunity to meet new people and see other parts of the world all in one place.
The MSU senior began working at the Kearney International Center as a sophomore, helping out at the front desk and on social media.
She first participated in the festival last year, coordinating food vendors and assisting in the cooking process. Dermenji said her background as a certified food handler helped.
"I'll be doing that again this year," she said. "I love monitoring the process of other students cooking and sharing their culture."
