Forget Fire and Spice’s “Taste of the India.” If you were in Jewett at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, you experienced a lot more culture than a little plate of curry and lentils at Reid.

The annual International Banquet was held this Saturday in the Jewett dining hall that was dressed to the nines. There was representation from all over the world draped on the walls: flags from Singapore, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Sier Leon, India and Argentina, among others. The room was packed, as tickets ($5 for students with a meal plan, $15 for community members) were sold out for weeks. Whitman students, alumni, professors and even Walla Walla community members all squeezed behind dining hall tables situated around a stage in the front of the room, eating delicious food from across the globe. The smell was intoxicating.

Guests were served Chevere Canape from France, Catrachas from Honduras, Alu Tama from Nepal, Galbi from Korea, Chicken Wiener Schnitzel from Germany, Vegetable Alecha with Enjera Bread from Ethiopia, Baklava from Bulgaria, Rasgula from India and Fraises au Chocolat from France. Delicious.

While guests ate from tables adorned in table clothes, cloth napkins and goblet-like glasses (in Jewett?: where is this stuff when we come for grilled cheese and tomato soup on Mondays?), they enjoyed a full schmorgasboard of worldly talent. There were Mexican, Honduran, and Ethiopian dances, a Navajo song, belly dancing, and even a little Bollywood choreography.

International Students and Friends Club (ISFC) co-Presidents sophomore Moabi Garebamono and senior Praneeta Bremjit spearheaded the event and were proud of the turnout.

They said, “The importance of this event is to highlight what the ISFC can bring to this campus. We are trying to increase awareness of the different cultures we have here. We want to do it in a fun and entertaining way.”

Garebamono and Bremjit were pleased with the outcome since a lot of work was put into the night.

“This was a HUGE event,” said Garebamono. “Without the help of the Intercultural Center and Bon Appetit, it couldn’t have happened.”

“Our advisor Kris Barry, [international student advisor at the Intercultural Center,] was the most important part of tonight,” said Bremjit.

All of the proceeds of the event go to a spring break trip for the international students, who don’t have the option of going home. So it was a good cause, and pretty darn fun, too.