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WorldFest event highlights diverse cultures in SW MN
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MARSHALL -- It was a chance to learn and share about different cultures --but that also meant lots of color, music, food and fun.
On Saturday afternoon, the Red Baron Arena and Expo was filled with people attending the second annual WorldFest event. WorldFest brought together international students from Southwest Minnesota State University, and area community members and vendors from a wide variety of cultures.
"It's pretty fun. It also kind of makes me emotional, a little bit," said Esther Oluburode. Oluburode said sharing about the culture and history of Nigeria with WorldFest visitors brought back a lot of memories for her. At the same time, she said, it was good for people to be able to learn about each other's cultures.
WorldFest visitors toured an expo featuring booths for about 18 different countries and cultures with connections to the Marshall area community. At each booth, they could learn about arts, culture, food and history from around the world.
"This is exciting," Dr. Raphael Onyeaghala said of WorldFest. Onyeaghala, dean of the College of Business, Education and Professional Studies at SMSU, said the event showed the diversity of people and cultures in the area community. "Even in southwest Minnesota, we have this abundance of cultures in our region.:
Quite a few of the activities at Saturday's event were hands-on. At the booth representing Taiwan, volunteers including Nikki Tsao and Mark Tang were answering visitors' questions and helping serve samples of bubble tea.
"I think it's good to let people know about Taiwan, and introduce them to our food and games," Tsao said.
The main stage at WorldFest also served as a showcase of music and dance from a variety of cultures. At one point on Saturday afternoon, the Narren of New Ulm -- a group of masked characters based on German traditions -- encouraged the crowd to get up and dance with them.
Food vendors and expo booths also brought international flavors for visitors to try. At one booth, students from the SMSU culinology and hospitality management program were serving up samples of "Pickles Around the World."
Jill Remmele and Emily Jacobson said culinology students prepared a variety of pickled and fermented snacks from scratch, using international recipes. Their sample plates included German sauerkraut and Korean kimchi, as well as pickle dishes from Japan, Italy and the island of Mauritius.
Some expo displays also showcased cultures that have come to call Minnesota home. At one booth, area Hmong residents wore traditional clothing and talked about their culture. Leng Vue, a Marshall High School senior, said it was something he didn't often get a chance to do.
"I think it's great to have a day in the year to express our culture, and share information with everybody," Vue said.