International faculty members and students will have the opportunity to represent their country during one of the events at the International Street Fest.
Augustana will host the festival, featuring multicultural food, performances, a fashion show, bingo and a showing of the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday.
The Office of International Student Life partnered with the Office of Student Life and Leadership (OSL) to create the International Street Fest starting at 4:30 p.m. throughout the fourth and fifth floors of the Center for Student Life (CSL).
“The Office of International Student Life has always had an international food festival every time around this part of the year,” said Daisy Hoang, a co-head of the International Street Fest planning committee from Vietnam. “So many people from the community go, but there’s not a lot of students that go, so we decided to make a change to attract more students.”
Wendy Guadarrama, who is marketing the event with junior Chris Huerta, said that the festival is about expanding diversity and featuring the growing number of international students on campus.
“This event is going to be big, and we are just hoping to get the international students more involved in Augustana things and to get the Augustana students more involved with the international students, because usually it’s divided,” said Guadarrama. “We are just hoping this event brings people together.”
According to Hoang, most of the CSL, including the coffee shop Brew by the Slough, down to the International Student Life Office is going to be housing the festival, with performances in the Brew at 5:30 along with a screening of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, at 7 p.m. and two fashion shows at 5 and 6:30 p.m. in the Gävle multipurpose room.
Twenty-five students and faculty members will represent 12 countries at the fashion show where each will wear an outfit from their country.
Hoang will be emceeing the event wearing a traditional Vietnamese outfit.
“During the international orientation at the beginning of the year, everyone said ‘okay, I have this outfit from home, but I don’t have an opportunity to wear it,’” said Hoang. “So, we never had an opportunity to make an event like this…this is kind-of a big thing.”
Swedish international student Isac Zia will also be participating in the fashion show, wearing an outfit from the Swedish festival of Sankta Lucia, an annual celebration in December.
“I’m a bit of a showman,” said Zia. “I kind-of like to stand onstage. I think it’s funny.”
The CSL will host the International Food Fest from 5-7:30 p.m., featuring over 40 dishes from around the world made by the CSL staff.
A cookbook of international recipes provided by the students will also be sold for $10, according to Hoang, who provided her recipe for pho, a broth containing Vietnamese noodles along with either chicken or beef.
“It’s really popular on the East and West coast, but not really around here,” said Hoang.
According to Guadarrama, students can eat with a meal swipe, and it’s $13 for the public and $10 for students without a meal plan.  To purchase tickets, contact Jane Tiedge, international student life coordinator, at [email protected] or at 309-794-7444.