30th Annual International Festival

The International Festival is a cultural celebration that is held annually here in Chico. On Saturday April 26, 2008, we celebrated this event on its 30^th anniversary at the Downtown Plaza. The event was sponsored by Chico State’s Associated Students Multicultural Affairs Council and was composed of booths which were set up from various student organizations. The Plaza was filled with culturally diverse food, music, decorations, dress attire and entertainment. The event was open to everyone in the community and was free of charge, it began at 11 a.m. and lasted until 6 p.m. The purpose for the Festival is to gather people of races and colors and teach them about various cultures while having great food and a great time.

The organizations included; M.E.Ch.A., Hmong Student Association, Filipino American Student Association, Asian Christian Fellowship, and many more!! As I walking into the center of the Plaza, I was amazed to see all the beautiful decorations and entertainment. Some students, who stood by their booths, even wore their beautiful cultural clothing! When I got there, there was a band playing music on stage and as I listened to the music I walked around the various booths.

I first walked up to the M.E.Ch.A. booth where I received information about the organization and decided that I really enjoyed what they stood for so considered joining the organization. The smells of the food made my stomach growl with hunger so I decided to buy tacos and then I saw a booth that was serving ice cream floats with various sodas to choose from so that became my next destination.

This year was my fist time that I had attended the festival and I give it two thumbs way up. It was very fun, the atmosphere was great and full of so much to do, I didn’t even know where to start! I definitely recommend for anybody who likes having fun to attend the celebration next year, I know I’ll be there!