OSU Marion Hosting Annual International Festival
Written by WKTN Staff on April 2, 2019
International cuisine, exotic jewelry, sculptures, henna tattoos, colorful clothing, live dance and music from around the world.
No, it’s not a sheik new business in Columbus’s trendy short north, it is Ohio State Marion’s 12th Annual International Festival, A Taste of Culture.
Launched in 2008, A Taste of Culture connects the Marion area with African-American, Argentinian, Chinese, French, Mexican, Native American, Scottish, and Somali cultures without the need to renew your passport.
The Alber Student Center will transform into a hub or people from across the globe on Thursday, April 4th, 2019, 4:30-8 p.m. Admission for a Taste of Culture is free and open to the public. Food and beverage tickets will be available for purchase.
This year’s festival educational program will be Omope Carter Daboiku. Daboiku will give a presentation on migration and cultural identity. It will include stories rooted in the countries from which Americans have migrated, including African oral tradition as told in Appalachia by people migrating from the agricultural south to northern industrial cities. Daboiku has been acknowledged as a culture-keeper by the Appalachian Community Development Association, the Cincinnati Arts Association, and the Ohio Arts Council, and Sinclair Community College. She has travelled internationally and collected stories in Germany, Senegal, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, and to Turkey for a 14 day, 7 city tour on behalf of the U.S. State Department. A member of and regular presenter of the Appalachian Studies Association and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, her writing can be found in regional journals such as Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel (Southern Appalachian Writers Collective) and the Anthology of Appalachian Writers (Shephard University Press). Daboiku will present in the Alber Student Center Lounge at 7 p.m.
Prior to her presentation, live entertainment will be featured in the Alber Student Center Gymnasium beginning at 4:30 p.m. Featured performers include: Gil Garcia, Radio X; Mark Melroy; Diverse Moves School of Dance; and Bethlehem School of Dance.
An estimated 7,200 visitors have taken part in this annual event since its inception. Local vendors, restaurateurs, and community members provide samplings of food representative of ethnic cuisines from across the globe. Donations are encouraged for purchase of food tickets to sample the food on hand. Proceeds from donations for food items benefit minority scholarships at Ohio State Marion.
For more information or to get involved with A Taste of Culture, contact The Ohio State University at Marion Office of Student Life at 740-725-6219.
