From a personalized henna station, to a French-themed photo booth, to a ticket register that accepted 5C students’ flex — this year’s International Festival had it all.
Leading up to April 13, 5C students had the opportunity to register a booth to represent a country, culture or region of the world. As a result, Claremont McKenna College’s North Mall was packed with tables of food from more than 15 countries.
Even beloved CMC ambassador John Faranda CM ’79 lent his services to the bakery section, which sold baked goods from members of the local Claremont community. Each item cost between two and four tickets and was up for purchase by 5C students, faculty, administrators and the surrounding community.
Students donned traditional clothing as they shared foods and activities from their home countries with event-goers. The Bhutan and Tibet booth offered momo, a South Asian dumpling filled with assorted vegetables, while the South Korea booth served chewy spicy rice cakes, or tteokbokki.
In addition to food, there were live performances of music and dance by professional companies and 5C student groups alike. Claremont Colleges Shogo Taiko, Trudi Henderson, African Soul International, Claremont Tamasha and the Claremont Colleges Irish Music Ensemble all took the stage.
The event was hosted by the International Place of the Claremont Colleges, a 5C organization that serves as a center for cultural exchange and educational programming on global issues, as well as a resource for international students.