Attendees were given the opportunity to learn the dances. Here, a Thai dancer leads the student participants.
For one afternoon a year, the Omni Auditorium at North Campus is transformed into a festival of nations – a kaleidoscopic of color, aromas, tastes and sights that reflect some of the countries of origin from which Broward College’s students, faculty and staff come. The festival’s eighth edition was held October 21.
At the Caribbean Student Association’s table, Martinique was the spotlighted country.
“It’s one of the smaller islands in the Caribbean, so we wanted to inform people about it,” explained Eddie Sanchez, a native of the Dominican Republic, who was serving samples of Martiniquean cuisine -- bananas flambee and a coconut gelatin mold.
“The bananas especially are really, really good,” he said.
Sandra Gaines opened the day’s
activities with the national anthem.
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The day’s activities featured a variety
of types of dance from countries
throughout the world. | 
Belly dancing by the Arabella Dancers
was among the day’s favorites – for
spectators and participants alike. |
The massage club chose Sweden, home of a peripatetic physician named Per Henrik Ling, who, as a result of his studies around the world, developed a system of pushing, pulling, kneading and rubbing the human body for therapeutic purposes. Ling called the techniques medical gymnastics; they are now known as the foundation for classical or modern Swedish massage.
The Black Student Union spotlighted Zimbabwe, the landlocked southern African nation formerly known as Rhodesia.
“We did it to raise awareness,” said BSU member Krystal Doyley. “Not a lot of people know much about Zimbabwe but there are a lot of negative perceptions about it.”
Club president Martrice Hicks said Zimbabwe is a fascinating place for many reasons. One she enjoyed talking about most was the baobab trees, Adansonia digitata. With its swollen, fire-resistant trunk, baobabs make an excellent water storage vessel, but every part of the giant tree has a use, from condiments and medicines made from its leaves, and cloth and rope from the bark. Even its fruit, called “monkey bread,” is consumed. The trunks are sometimes so large they are used as homes.
“The trees, they can live up to a thousand years,” Hicks said.
“Do Not Forget,” a role-play exercise
by the Roots Club, brought drama
to the Multicultural Festival’s slate
of activities. | 
The rhythm of African drumming and dance was
particularly enticing.
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Other countries represented with an exhibit at the festival were the Bahamas, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Japan, Panama, Romania and Singapore.
The country exhibits were one aspect of the festival; the other main elements were the food and entertainment.
The food reflected nations from all over the world – vegetarian dishes from India, pastas from Italy, jerk chicken, even the Louisiana Cajun favorite jambalaya. The serving line, set up along the Omni’s north side, stretched almost the length of the building’s floor.
Participants could work up an appetite while participating with the entertainers or enjoy the entertainment while dining. The lineup of entertainment included several types of salsa music, Polynesian, Caribbean, Thai, Brazilian, step and belly dancers, African drumming and dance, a Junkanoo troupe from the Bahamas, Bollywood-style fusion dance and more.
The Junkanoo band got the Omni rocking, with its
lively, up-tempo sound. The traditional day for
Junkanoo in the Bahamas is Boxing Day, December 26,
but in recent years, summer Junkanoo festivals
have become popular.
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Displays by campus clubs and organizations reflected
upon the culture, resources, people and accomplishments
of many countries, among them Haiti, Brazil,
the Bahamas, China, Japan, Ethiopia, Romania,
Martinique, and Sweden, home of Per Henrik Ling,
the father of classical Swedish massage.
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Students had the opportunity to taste delicacies
from around the globe in a buffet that stretched
almost the width of the Omni. | 
The Black Students Union chose to shine its spotlight
on the landlocked Southern African nation of Zimbabwe.
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