After months of planning, Marietta College is ready to celebrate Lunar New Year and host a Multicultural Festival for students, employees, and the community to enjoy.
The event will take place from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Saturday, January 28th, in The Gathering Place.
“There will be a program with performances from traditional Chinese musicians, U.S. World Kungfu Champion, Taekwondo Academy, Brazilian Capoeira, Marietta Children’s Choir, MC students, performance from and many other community groups,” said Assistant Professor Jenni Zhang, who helped plan the event. “This event is fun and educational and open to the public. Participants will have a chance to taste food from all over the world, make crafts at the cultural table, experience the traditional lion dance, wear traditional costumes from different countries and record the beautiful moment at the photo booth, and win prizes by participating in the fun games.”
There will also be tables for different cultural groups, such as Japanese anime, Cosplay table, and Global Connection.
Some of Zhang’s students will serve as emcees, including Yutaro Ito ’25 and Nagisa Harada ’25, who are both international students from Japan.
“This is a great opportunity for everyone to be exposed to different cultures and learn about them through all the food, performances, cultural items, and atmosphere that international students, faculty members, and community members bring in,” Ito said. “There will be tables representing and celebrating different countries and cultures, so I want everybody to stop by and have a talk with them to feel the world. I also want people to enjoy all the performances and activities coming with prizes.”
Ito will also perform a modern hip-hop dance during the event.
In addition to the Lunar New Year events, there will also be tables featuring cultural aspects of China, Brazil, Guatemala, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Lebanon, Ghana, and Russia.
“Mainly, I’m looking forward to having conversations with people who have different backgrounds and cultures,” Harada said. “From my experience as an international student, I really enjoy talking with people and sharing our values, beliefs, and cultures. I hope the guests also enjoy the conversation and experience of sharing culture.”