Music, aro­mas of for­eign foods and peo­ple of all dif­fer­ent skin col­ors filled the IRC Connector for the 24^th Annual International Festival of Cultures.

The fes­ti­val pro­vides an oppor­tu­nity for Ferris’ inter­na­tional stu­dents to share their cul­ture with other stu­dents and the Big Rapids community.

Dozens of booths were set up in the IRC; each rep­re­sented a dif­fer­ent coun­try and offered the nation’s cui­sine. Ferris stu­dents received two free tick­ets for food sam­pling, while non-students could pur­chase tick­ets for 50 cents each.

“My favorite food was def­i­nitely from Malaysia,” Carl Pearson, second-year FSU phar­macy stu­dent, said. “I don’t really know what it was, but it was lit­tle pat­ties with rice and peanut sauce.”

Matt Rogers, FSU teach­ing stu­dent, con­curred. Both stu­dents agreed that the event was bet­ter in pre­vi­ous years when it was held in the Rankin Student Center Dome Room.

Other activ­i­ties at the event included short films and games for chil­dren, such as “Guess the Spices,” “Test Your Chopstick Skills” and “Learn Your Chinese Alphabet.”

There were also inter­mit­tent per­for­mances through­out the day, includ­ing a Tai Chi pre­sen­ta­tion from China, a Zumba pre­sen­ta­tion from Brazil and an African stick fight­ing pre­sen­ta­tion from South Africa.

Neda Mohammadnejad Fard, an FSU pre-pharmacy stu­dent, came to Ferris from Iran and ran a booth about her coun­try. One of her pro­fes­sors made her par­tic­i­pate, but she is extremely happy that she did. She enjoyed the fes­ti­val and gave oth­ers a tip of advice.

“Ignore all the stereo­types,” Fard said about her cul­ture. “Get to know the per­son for who he or she is.”

The International Festival of Cultures took place from 1 to 5 p.m. on April 15. For infor­ma­tion about next year’s fes­ti­val, con­tact Katie Bolter at bolt10@ferris.edu or ext. 2450.