Take a trip around the world at Florida Tech's International Festival
In Jules Verne’s adventure, “Around the World in 80 Days,” protagonist Phileas Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the globe during the span of eight ten-day stints to win a huge prize.
The journey made for a great book (and a 1956 epic adventure film with David Niven), but a very tiring time for Fogg.
Brevard residents can do better than Fogg, thanks to Florida Tech’s International Festival, an immersive excursion into foreign lands that requires no passports or plane tickets.
Unlike Fogg’s trip, there are no high-stakes wagers here, other than the goal of having fun on a global scale, which the International Festival delivers at no cost.
From Africa to Korea, from Saudi Arabia to Taiwan, the event showcases the world’s cultures and cuisine from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16, at Panther Plaza, the Melbourne university’s outdoor event venue. Should it rain, the festival will be held at the school’s Clemente Center.
Florida Tech, home to students from more than 100 countries, is the perfect location for an event that celebrates global diversity. In its 13th year, International Fest began as a student-focused event, but has since blossomed into a community-wide party.
“It is still a day of celebration for our students, but it has also become a way for them to share a beautiful day of culture food, dance, music and friendship,” said Deborah Matta, the university’s manager of International Student Programs.
The five-hour-long festival features a plethora of family-friendly fun, including stage performances, cultural displays, food sampling, plus vendors focusing on arts, crafts and cultural goods. For the kids and their budget-minded parents, this is a day of activities that includes free bounce houses, free popcorn, free face painting and free glitter tattoos.
The festival’s Passport to the World program encourages children of all ages to visit different cultural displays to discover the countries and cultures represented. Each child will receive a “passport” that will be stamped at the different locations in the festival grounds. Once the passport is full, the students will receive a gift box of global treats.
Mohammad “Moe” Nafadi has been a fixture at the festival since he was a student at Satellite High School. A native of Saudi Arabia and now a Florida Tech junior focusing on biomedical engineering, Moe this year is participating as president of the International Student Service Organization, the host group responsible for planning and managing the event.
“This is one of the biggest events we host at Florida Tech,” he said. “The International Student Service Organization focuses on helping international and American students engage with each, and the International Festival is one of the strongest tools we have to do so.”
Performing at the festival are members of the African, Latin American, Caribbean, Omani, Indian and Chinese Student Associations, along with the Saudi Student Union and students from Bangladesh, plus Florida Tech’s Shik Shak Bellydancing Club, the Street Dance Club, the Swing Dance Club and TWITCHY, the school’s all-staff band.
The students will be joined by community performers that include Voices of Indonesia in Florida, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church’s Irish Step Dancer, the Grecia Odyssey Dancer from St. Katherines and Panama Suenos y Tradiciones. It’s not all song and dance, either, since the Melbourne Copoeira Karkara Brazilian Martial Arts and the Seibukan Dojo Japanese Martial Arts are scheduled for demonstrations.
The event also includes cultural displays from both student and community groups and food vendors such as Colombian Harvest, Falafel Stop, Habanero Grill, Taal Indian Cuisine, Hazel’s Caribbean Restaurant, Le Crave Café and Bangkok Thai Restaurant, among others.
Festival organizers selected arts and craft vendors that offer unique ethnic or environmentally oriented goods. Alpaca Joe’s, Think Humanity fair trade products, Incasuri Peruvian jewelers and Open Circle African goods will have their distinctive wares for sale there. If you are interested in the same-old, this is not your shopping destination, for everything here is handcrafted or singular.
“We wanted vendors who had products that were out of the ordinary,” Matta said.
Phileas Fogg had to spend 80 days globetrotting to understand the scope of many cultures. In Brevard, five hours at Florida Tech’s International Festival should do the same.
Florida Tech’s International Festival
When: Saturday, February 16 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Where: Florida Tech’s Panther Plaza. Should it rain, the festival will be held at the school’s Clemente Center.
For more information: Call 321-674-8053 or visit floridatech.edu/international-fest.