From mojo pies to Debke dances, ASU's annual World Festival gave ASU students the chance to experience aspects of different cultures.
BJ Bryan, president of the Global Futures Student Society, sold mojo pies - a kind of meat pie pastry that originated in Australia - to students at the 19th annual World Festival on Hayden Lawn Wednesday.
"It's like a chicken pot pie, but it [can contain] beef and cheese. We [sold] them to raise money for Global Futures," said Bryan, a mechanical engineering senior.
His organization, along with more than 30 other international ASU clubs, was present at the festival.
Clubs participated for various reasons, including raising money for future events, recruiting members or raising awareness.
Taiwan Study Society President and doctoral education student Tzuhui Chen said her booth was trying to inform students about Taiwan and promote tourism.
"We promote Taiwanese culture and its exchange between Chinese culture, American culture and other cultures," Chen said.
Representatives from the Arizona chapter of AIESEC, an international organization, said they want to encourage global appreciation.
"Our mission is to foster cultural understanding and to break down stereotypes by sending people abroad on paid internships," said member and tourism development and management sophomore Melissa Whiteman, event planning coordinator for AIESEC.
At the AIESEC booth, students put pins on a map of the world where they have been or lived and where they would like to go.
Several clubs also performed on stage, like the Lebanese Students Club, which performed a traditional folk dance called Debke.
"It's usually danced at weddings, parties, large events and family gatherings," said club president and political science junior Joelle Zlaket. "It's a community-based dance."
Friends of Palestine also performed their own Debke.
"Other countries have their own version of it," Zlaket said.
Although the students from these organizations may have different traditions, they are all ASU students.
Nearly 3,000 international students are registered at ASU, representing more than 120 countries, said Christina Gastelum, this year's event coordinator.
The festival began in 1988 with "the interest of bringing dance and music culture from a diverse perspective to a university campus," said interim dance chair Pegge Vissicaro.
Vissicaro, the first festival organizer, said that although the event originally featured professional and semi-professional performers and vendors, it is the students that make the festival happen.
"I was just there to get things started," Vissicaro said. "The ball was rolling, and then it was picked up by the students."
Reach the reporter at: stephanie.naufel@asu.edu.
