Cal Poly students and parents had the chance to see another side of campus when the MultiCultural Center hosted its 11th Annual Culturefest on Sunday, coinciding with Parent’s Weekend.
The theme for this year’s event, held in San Luis Obispo’s Mitchell Park, was “USS Culturefest: Sea of Diversity.”
The nautical theme was just one of the many themes among the 15 individual performances by Cal Poly clubs and local dance troupes, representing various cultural influences from Ireland to the Philippines. Food vendors, all Cal Poly clubs, similarly inundated the palette, serving up dozens of culturally specific dishes.
“We just want to build. a bridge between the community and Cal Poly, (and) let them know that we have all this diversity in the community.” said biology junior Ian-Hero Serrano, “captain” of the Culturefest Committee. “We want to spread that awareness to everyone in San Luis Obispo. Also, since this is a college town, we just want to be on good terms with everyone in the community.”
With over 30 cultural clubs, fraternities and sororities taking part in the event, it was moved to a larger venue this year in order to draw a larger crowd.
“We probably had between 300 to 500 people here,” said Renoda Campbell-Monza, the center’s adviser. “We usually do it in Mission Plaza, so this isn’t as narrow. We wanted more people to be able to see and hear.”
There were many in the crowd who were supporting a friend or family member in the onstage demonstration but stayed to see other performances and indulge in multi-ethnic cuisine.
“My friend and I just came down to see the African dance,” Lauren Denner, 28, said. “We both take the same class out in Morro Bay. We really enjoy the whole scene though. We like the Thai tea except she thinks it’s a little chewy.”
The food sold at the event was selected to represent various cultures, even if it was not all entirely traditional.
“The cultural food that we have is fry bread,” said Thomas Miller, an engineering senior and president of Cal Poly’s American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
“It actually started in the reservations because we got so little food; all we had was flour, sugar and lard and they just got put together. You can go all up and down this aisle and it’s good food, good food, good food. I mean you can think of these as stereotypes but it is all cultural things that should be celebrated. If we wanted to do something really traditional, we would be grinding corn meal over here.”
Miller said Culturefest is about promoting cultural exchange among the clubs as well as exposing visitors to diversity.
“We’re exchanging foods and checking out what each other has to offer. The Thai tea is amazing. We all like each other’s cultures,” he said.
“I love the drums; any kind is fantastic and there’s a lot of that going on today; amazing beats, amazing music.”
For some participants, Culturefest was a success in simply showing the presence of minority voices in the community.
“It’s really nice just see the diversity here just flourish especially in San Luis Obispo where sometimes we feel it’s just hidden,” said Joshanna Heredia, graphic communication senior and secretary for Chicano Commencement.
“We’ve gotten to talk to a lot of people. Just to let them know that we’re here and that we’re proud of our achievements.”