NCC to host International Fest
You don't have to get on a plane or a train to experience the best a variety of cultures have to offer.
A sampling of music, food, dance, language and customs from civilizations around the world will be on display Sunday when North Central College presents its 13th annual International Festival.
The Merner Field House will host 17 information booths where guests can find out more about local and worldwide cultural organizations.
It's a combination of community organizations and international organizations from the college itself, said Kelly Pilleux, the college's international student adviser.
One of the more recent additions to the festival is Language Stars, a group that will present information and games for children.
They take a whole corner and make it for kids, said Pilleux.
Language Stars will add a new dimension to the festival's popular immersion room feature by adding Italian to the lineup for the first time, she said.
Visitors can experience 30-minute classroom immersion sessions in their choice of Russian, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese or, now, Italian.
Pilleux said immersion teachers use basic phrases in each of those foreign languages to communicate their lessons.
"We tell them to gear it toward children and use visuals," she said, adding that the rooms fill up fast, especially with Girl Scouts intent on earning cross-cultural badges.
The center of the field house floor will play host to performances including several by Irish, Polish, Chinese and Indian dance troupes, along with martial arts demonstrations.
Imported goods will be offered for sale, Pilleux said.
Aromas from around the world will permeate the air as My Chef Catering serves up tortilla soup, egg rolls with plum sauce, meatball sandwiches, flour tortillas, hot dogs and chocolate eclairs, she said.
Visitors can help their neighbors abroad and in the United States by donating new or gently used shoes to Share Your Soles, an Alsip-based charity that distributes shoes to those who need them in impoverished areas and in places devastated by natural disasters.
Pilleux said a donation bin will be set up at the festival.
"We try to be not only about the shoes, but about doing a small act of kindness that doesn't save a life, but maybe can change a life," said Share Your Soles founder Mona Purdy.
The festival typically draws large crowds and many families, Pilleux said.
"We had around 500 people (last year)," Pilleux said. "We put a lot into those four hours."
If you go
What: North Central College's 13th annual International Festival
When: Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8
Where: Merner Field House, 450 S. Brainard St., Naperville
Admission: $5 per person for ages 4 and up
Info: (630) 637-5132 or northcentralcollege.edu