Culture celebration doubles as fundraiser

Font Size:

By Kathy Kuhl | Saturday, April 26, 2008 |

Youma Ndiaye of Moline — originally of Mauritania — snapped a photograph in the gymnasium of Black Hawk College.

In the photograph were a group of friends representing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Norway, Togo and Mexico. The native costumes were orange, blue, brown, red. There were beads and fur and sequins.

Elements — and people — from many cultures spanning at least four continents were brought together at the International Festival at the Moline college Saturday.

Festival coordinator Angela Elliott said there were at least 35 countries represented at the festival, which is the main fund-raising event for the college’s International Student Scholarship Fund.

“It’s also an opportunity to educate the community on the various cultures we have right here in the Quad-Cities,” she said. “This is a chance to show a part of ourselves by showing parts of our culture.”

For some, it’s just fun.

Since moving here in 2003, Ndiya, a first-year pre-law student at Black Hawk, said, “I’ve come every year. It’s beautiful.”

Abel Zertuche of East Moline watched the events from a table with his wife, their son and his family.

“It’s getting bigger every year,” he said. “I think it’s impressive with all the different cultures and seeing everyone in their native dress.”

In the auditorium, children — along with students looking for extra credit — learned the story of “Sticks,” as performed by Black Hawk College Professor Steven Baldridge and a supporting cast.

The festivities in the gym included dances by groups representing Afghanistan, India, Mexico, Togo, Liberia, Brazil and more. There was also a musical performance by Fire in the Belly, a Celtic-style group, and an international fashion show, which detailed distinctions between the dress of different Native American tribes and Mexican costumes from the different states of Mexico.

With a gold dress and a string of jewels coming to a “V” on her forehead, Lorna Meyer of Bettendorf said, gesturing to her dress, “This is new for me.”

It was her first time dressing like a Maranao woman from the southern, Muslim region of the Philippines. She explained that she is from the Visayas region in the central part of the island country, but she put on a different dress to be in the fashion show.

The sights commanded some of the crowd’s attention, but there were also the smells. Middle Eastern, Mexican, Chinese and Italian restaurants were among those situated on the outer rim of the room.

More than two hours into the event, Martin Garcia of La Flama restaurant said he had sold between 30 and 40 burritos. “We were honored to be invited. Hopefully, we’ll do next year, too.”

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.