On May 3, the Office of International Student Life (ISL) hosted the annual International Fest in the Weitz Commons. Both international and domestic students enjoyed food, dance, music and artistic performances that represented cultures from around the world.
International Fest began in 2000 as the International Festival and was sponsored by the Multicultural Affairs Office, the International Students Program and a variety of multicultural student organizations. In its 25th iteration, International Fest sought to “share global cultures with the entire campus community in a fun and interactive environment,” said Liz Cody, director of ISL.
“International Fest is a Carleton tradition designed to celebrate global culture. Students and student organizations have the opportunity to represent global cultures through performance, food, and activities,” said Cody.
This year, the event was organized by ISL with support from the Carleton Student Association (CSA). International Peer Leaders — students from different countries who are responsible for communicating and fostering relationships with international students — helped organize different aspects of the event. This year’s committee leaders were John Win ’25 for performances, Defne Arat ’27 for food and Yifei Ren ’26 for decorations and activities.
“[International Fest] showcases the diverse cultures and experiences that we have in the international student body to the wider Carleton community,” said Win.
According to Win, the goal for the performances this year was to display the diversity of the international student community.
Win added that “We tried really hard to get different groups to come together this year and perform.”
Students had the opportunity to sign up, either as individual performers or with a group, to perform at International Fest. During the performance section of the event in the Kracum Performance Hall, 12 students and student groups performed. Students performed cultural poems, dances and musical performances with traditional instruments, songs and other artistic displays. The performance committee wanted to highlight different cultures in each performance.
“Hearing a different language that you haven’t listened to before [is really impactful],” said Win. “I remember the first time I listened to a Hmong song. I never heard this before, but the pop melody was very similar to what I experienced back home.”
The event allowed students to connect a variety of different cultures with their own experiences, either in other countries or in the United States.
Win said “We kind of have this melodic similarity [around the world]. Having people connect with the different pieces in their own ways in terms of similarities and differences with their own cultures, that was kind of our hope too.”
In the event’s previous years, performances took place in the Weitz Cinema. This year, however, performances took place in the Kracum to allow for better performing and viewing experiences.
“Lighting and sound wise, it’s been much better for performers, for singers,” said Win.
The student organizations who participated in the performance section included Mosaic of South Asian Interests at Carleton (MOSAIC), which represents students from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives.
“I knew that MOSAIC hadn’t participated in International Fest as an organization for a long time,” said Abhimanyu Rao ’28, a MOSAIC board member. “We thought it was the right time to start again.”
MOSAIC wanted to share South Asian culture with the Carleton community, as “a lot of students on this campus had not seen or known about [this culture] before,” added Rao.
Members of the organization choreographed an original dance to “Bang Bang”, a song by Indian singers Benny Dayal and Neeti Mohan.
“It’s quite a popular song, and it’s just a very energetic song, and we wanted to share that energy with the crowd,” said Rao.
Beyond the performances, students and student organizations had activities and food from their cultures in the Weitz Commons. Food, drinks and desserts from different countries were available for the community to try and enjoy.
“There was so much food from different countries, and you could see some similarities across various countries,” added Rao. “You could see some countries that were so far away from each other, but they had very similar kinds of food.”
“It just showed you that food is such a universal experience. It was very special,” said Rao.
In its history, International Fest has provided a space for international students to bring the sounds and flavors of their home countries to Carleton.
“It’s a really nice event for [international students] to not only share their culture, but also to reconnect with their culture. Being in another country for so long, you can start missing your home a lot. If you can feel some part of it or share some part of it with somebody else, it really helps you feel like you’re connected to that yourself,” added Rao.
The food, performances and activities displayed at International Fest represent Carleton’s mission of “[encouraging] curiosity and intellectual adventure of the highest quality,” according to the college’s website.
“There are just so many people from so many different, diverse backgrounds at Carleton, and sharing those backgrounds with other people just helps everybody learn something new,” said Rao.
Most student organizations or individual students made the food themselves. From Brazilian brigadeiros to Nepalese momos, the Carleton community got to know the traditions of cultures around the world, one bite at a time.
