Gadsden State Community College International Programs will host its annual International Festival, “Boldly Go,” on April 11 at Convention Hall in Gadsden.
The festival includes displays showcasing coun-tries from around the world, food, and entertainment.
Tickets are on sale now through the Wallace Hall online box office at http://www.internatonal.wallacehall.org/; the International Office at Naylor Hall, Room 108; and the Center for Cultural Arts. Advance ticket prices are $10 for students, $15 for adults, and a reserved table of eight is $130. A limited number of tickets will be available for purchase at the door and a surcharge will be applied for these tickets.
This year’s festival offers special features such as a wine tasting and di-verse food vendors have replaced the traditional ca-tered dinner.
An additional $10 ad-vance ticket and ID are required to participate in the wine tasting which will include four wine choices. The festival will begin at 4 p.m. with a shopping bazaar and cultural displays. The wine tasting is scheduled for 5 p.m., food vendors will begin serving at 6:00 p.m. and entertainment is set to begin at 7 p.m. Students at Gadsden State will prepare the various international displays and provide entertainment for the evening.
The objective of the festival is cultural exchange, exposing the Gadsden community to other cultures, allowing local citizens to meet some of the international students who attend Gadsden State, and providing an opportunity for the Gadsden State students to interact with the local community. Approximately 200 international students attend Gadsden State on average each semester.
Country displays include Japan, Korea, Belgium, Ukraine, Colombia, Ven-ezuela, Nigeria, Brazil, Bahrain, Denmark, Thai-land, India, Viet Nam, Chile, Pakistan, China, and others.
Displays can be viewed by the general public, but advance tickets are necessary for the wine tasting and food vendors.
Gadsden State has ed-ucated international stu-dents for 45 years.
The intensive English program, Alabama Lan-guage Institute, has operated continuously since 1973, and was the first ESL institute in Ala-bama.
The festival began as a picnic at Noccalula Falls in the late 1970’s, when students met and prepared traditional dishes from their countries.
For more information about the festival call 256-549-8438, 256-543-ARTS (2787) or email cgray@gadsdenstate.edu. For more information about the International Program contact Dr. Paula Ross Derrick at pross@gadsdenstate.edu.