CMC Hosts International Festival
By Cameron Byerley
Staff Writer

Faces from all over the world could be seen at the 25th International Festival at CMC on Saturday, April 12. Eighty-four nations were represented by over 200 international students at the Claremont Colleges and community residents. Thirty booths were set up at the festival, some representing just one country and others representing entire continents.

People of all ages and nationalities gathered to sample the food, watch the entertainment, and learn a little about foreign countries. Children, faces adorned with paint, danced to the Russian band while senior citizens from the community found refuge in the shade. Visitors wandered through the festival, hands full of exotic food.

Charlene Martin, director of International Place, worked for months to organize the festival with the help of students and community members.

"It's something that international students do voluntarily. We do it for the sake of representing our countries. I try to put in as much effort as I can," said Naveen Sangji '05.

At 11 a.m. the festival began with a brief introduction from Martin. She related that for the past 25 years students have put their hearts into the festival, but she was not sure whether they would want to do so again in wartime. She said, "When I asked if they could do it one more time they thought it was more important than ever." Martin believes that there were several factors that drew students to the festival. International students have had a hard year because of increased restrictions on coming to the United States, and some have had wars at home. Martin said that after so much conflict and war people wanted to "enjoy a day of all nations coming together, a kind of dream of the way we want the world to be."

The women at the Indonesia-Malaysia booth reiterated her thoughts: "Even though the countries are fighting, the people aren't." They felt that International Place and the events it sponsors promote understanding of other cultures.

International Place at CMC provides support and events for all international students at the 5-Cs. It orients them at the beginning of the year, holds an international banquet first semester, hosts speakers related to international issues each Thursday, and organizes the International Festival.

While cultural understanding was important for those involved, the delicious food can't be forgotten.

Salima Lemelle, local resident and head chef for the African booth, said the International Festival is "one of the best times of the year for me and also for other people. Where else can I get 84 different kinds of food in one place?" Martin recruited Lemelle upon her arrival from Tanzania, and she has been cooking in the festival every year since 1986.

The food at the International Festival is cooked and consumed at a frantic pace. Lemelle continued to cook plantains while answering questions because there was a line of people inquiring whether they were done yet. Large barbeques were set up behind many of the booths filled to capacity with all kinds of meats and vegetables. Despite large amounts of food, many of the booths had to start making "sold out" signs by the end of the festival.

Although a lot of the food was cooked right at the festival, much of the preparation was done the night before in 5-C kitchens. Each booth usually had someone knowledgeable about the country's cuisine and a group of assistants. Anyone could participate in the cooking and selling of the food regardless of their country of origin. Members of 5-C dining halls staff supervised the process to make sure health standards were observed.

The intensive preparations paid off on the day of the festival with many satisfied customers. Martin estimated that 4,000 people went to the festival this year. With help from the community and lots of volunteer labor, they were able to make enough money to pay all of their expenses, which are usually around $21,000. Martin said, "The festival was never intended as a fundraiser; it was conceived as a celebration of the diversity of the human family."

The atmosphere had a celebratory feeling. People danced to live music and one woman in the crowd exclaimed, "It's like a vacation!"

One of the highlights of the day's entertainment was the Russian band Limpopo. When asked what the unusual name meant, they said it had no meaning but happened to be the name of an unrelated river in Africa. One of the members was an ex-gymnast and performed some impressive dance moves.

This year's International Festival was a culmination of many people's efforts to continue a Claremont tradition. Pomona Spanish professor Clara Soto-Ivey has been coming to the festival for more than 20 years and testified to its great growth. When asked why she comes back every year, she said, "It's not just the food; you see the faces of people from all different cultures."