Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University will host the International Food Festival, a collaborative effort of the Daniel & Betty Jo Grant Center for International Education and the OBU International Club, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Walker Conference Center. Tickets are $5 each and will be available at the door.

“The International Food Festival is a wonderful tradition at Ouachita that allows us to celebrate and highlight our commitment to global education,” said Ian Cosh, OBU’s vice president for community and international engagement. “It also allows international and MK students to showcase their cultural heritage.”

The theme this year is Global Junction, playing off of the idea that Ouachita is a place where students, faculty and staff from many countries and cultures cross paths.

“Some relationships last a lifetime and some are only temporary, but this Global Junction still has an impact on everyone at Ouachita, whether they know it or not,” noted René Zimny, assistant director of the Grant Center.

Not only is the International Food Festival a way to learn more about the diverse population of Ouachita, but also a time to enjoy food from other countries. International students and missionary kids (MKs) will prepare traditional food from their countries. The food stations will be divided into four main areas: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

“It’s not only a great way to learn and get immersed in different cultures that are represented on campus, but it’s an event that will also make you feel as though you’re traveling the world,” added International Club President Michelle Perez, a junior business administration and management major from Maracaibo, Venezuela.

In addition to the international meal, entertainment will be provided by several international students leading up to the evening’s main performance by a bluegrass band.

The International Food Festival also will feature a marketplace, sponsored by the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union.

“These are fair trade products produced by artisans in poverty around the world who have been empowered to be able to support themselves through making jewelry and artifacts,” explained Sharon Cosh, coordinator of Ouachita’s English as a Second Language Program. “The Set1Free products for sale will help in the fight to end human trafficking and stop sexual exploitation.”

For more information about the food festival or OBU’s Grant Center, contact René Zimny at [email protected] or (870) 245-5224.

By Kristen Barnard