A showcase of cultures took place in Honolulu
April 21, with booths, an international parade of countries,
ethnic costume and dances on Fort St. Mall and an evening concert
at Central Union Church.
HPU celebrated its 24th annual Intercultural Day with cultural
displays and activities from 22 different countries.
Each booth reflected the cultural diversity that HPU is famous
for. Mexican students from Latinos Unidos gave one-minute dancing
lessons. Samoans displayed coconut cutting and an umu, a traditional
method of cooking food. The Middle East booth had a student demonstrating
belly dancing skills while other students’ arms were decorated
with their names, in Arabic, written in henna ink.
The Middle East was awarded with the “Best Booth” of
this Intercultural Day, followed by Korea and the Philippines.
“
Intercultural Day is a great opportunity for people to see what
each other’s culture has to offer” said Leila Abuzalaf,
a senior majoring in international studies. It was the third
Intercultural Day for this student from Palestine and Algeria.
A parade of students from around the world, in their traditional
costumes, began lining up at 11:30 and at noon they carried their
banners and flags around the downtown area, singing traditional
songs from their country.
Following the parade, the HPU Cheer and Dance teams presented
their First Place trophies from the National Cheerleaders Association
and National Dance Association Championships in Daytona Beach,
Fla. the weekend before.
Lively stage performances began at 1 p.m. with dances from Latin
America, the Philippines, China, Africa, the Middle East, Japan,
Samoa, and Korea.
The United Samoan Organization won First Prize for best dance.
Edna Maeataafoa said that their preparation for Intercultural
Day “comes naturally for us because we are very family
oriented and everyone gets along very well.” A junior,
majoring in justice administration, this is Maeataafoa’s
first time participating in Intercultural Day.
Since its establishment in 1984, Intercultural Day is one of
Hawai‘i’s largest intercultural events. “Not
only is it a great opportunity to gather international students
of HPU to celebrate the campus’s cultural diversity,” said
freshman Hannah Beach, “it is also a wonderful opportunity
for visitors to see the variety of cultures the island has to
offer.”
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