The 2008 VCU Intercultural Festival held Sunday afternoon
concluded a weeklong celebration of the diverse cultures
represented on campus.
The festival was preceded by activities presented throughout
the week, including a series of lectures about the Brazilian
slave trade by VCU’s Alexandrian Society on Wednesday and
a parade on Saturday that concluded at Monroe Park.
Student groups set up tables and shared timeslots on two
stages-one in
front at the University
Student
Commons Plaza
and the other near
Floyd Avenue.
Several vendors
sold food
throughout the
day, with the 11-
piece band Richmond
Afrobeat
Movement joining
the many acts
who performed in
the parking lot
across from the Commons.
Bao-Vinh Nguyen, a biology major volunteering at the
festival, said the tradition helps showcase the cultures
represented at VCU.
“There’s so much to learn from each other and share,” he
said. “It’s a great experience to learn about new cultures .
They’re all so fun, there’s always something new and you meet so many people-it doesn’t
matter where you’re from.”
Jessica Lee, Monroe Park Campus
SGA president, operated a booth
for advocacy group Hope in the
Cities.
“It seems like (the festival is)
including a lot more this year,”
Lee said. “It seems like people are
enjoying it a lot more. People seem
to be really excited about showing
their stuff.”
Biology major Stephen Nguyen,
president of VCU’s Vietnamese
Student Association, was at one point
dressed in a dragon costume.
“It’s to celebrate the Vietnamese
New Year, which was this past
February,” Nguyen said. “We’re just
trying to show people our culture;
we try to be bright and active . I
love the festival. It’s one of the best
opportunities to show our culture
not just to the students but the
community.”
Business major Brian McDaniel
had been unfamiliar with the
festival but said he was drawn by
the food.
“This is my first year coming, and
I’m definitely impressed,” McDaniel
said. “We watched a Jewish rapper;
it was cool to see him.”