International Festival at university embraces diversity

Event ends Friday with music, dance and interactive displays.

By: David Campbell
   International Festival 2005, a celebration of cultural diversity being hosted by Princeton University that began last week with screenings of international films, will culminate in a daylong event Friday at the Frist Campus Center that promises plenty of music, dance and interactive displays.
   The annual festival is organized by students through the Consortium of International Student Organizations, and it’s open to the public, according to organizers.
   The festival launched Wednesday with the screening of "West Beirut," a 1998 film out of Lebanon that is one of the four films being shown this year. This was followed Thursday with "Occident," a 2002 film from Romania.
   This Wednesday, a screening of "L’Auberge Espagnol," a 2003 French film, is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Wilson Blackbox. A screening Thursday of "Monsoon Wedding," a 2001 film from India, is scheduled for 9 p.m. at the Dodd Courtyard. The rain location is Frist 302, organizers said.
   Each film has been selected to entertain and to reveal different facets of the culture it represents, according to organizers.
   The festival will culminate Friday with a day of events at Frist, starting at 2 p.m. with a traditional Chinese lion dance on the north lawn of the campus center. Afterward, a number of cultural display tables on the 100 level of Frist will be open to the public.
   The tables will be interactive displays staffed by Princeton students aimed at educating visitors about different cultures from around the globe. This year, 23 countries from all five continents will be represented.
   Special activities will include lessons in origami, Romanian egg painting, games of backgammon, Greek mosaic crafting, salsa and ballroom dancing and a food festival of foreign cuisine, organizers said.
   At 8 p.m., a fashion show and cultural show will be held on the south lawn at Frist. Princeton students will participate as models in the fashion show, which will showcase costumes and traditional garb from every continent.
   The cultural show will assemble ethnic performing groups from around the Princeton campus. Groups will include Triple 8, Naacho, Kalaa, Sympoh, the Tap Cats and Raks Odalisque, according to organizers.
   Admission to the festival is free to students and the public.