Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—As one of the Southeastern Conference’s most diverse institutions of higher learning, Mississippi State University currently is a “home away from home” to 765 international students from 76 countries across the globe.

When the 28th International Fiesta returns April 7 to the Starkville campus, many of these students will share food, music, dance and other cultural aspects from their homeland with the campus and local communities.

Sponsored by World Neighbors Association and MSU’s Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, the event takes place from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on the university’s historic Drill Field. In the event of rain, the fiesta will be held at the west-side concourse of Davis Wade Stadium.

Campus organizations, clubs and departments will have displays and food booths. Various groups also will provide entertainment in the form of dancing, music performances, singing, as well as a fashion show.

Inflatables, unique cultural games and other fun activities will be available for children.

Ra’Sheda Forbes, MSU’s assistant vice president for multicultural affairs, said the International Fiesta “demonstrates the beauty and uniqueness of various countries’ cultures” and helps attendees “imagine what it is like to function in an international society.”

“I don’t think there is a greater international exchange than the International Fiesta,” said Forbes, who also serves as the HCDC’s director.

For more information on the International Fiesta, contact Kei Mamiya, HCDC program coordinator, at 662-325-2033 or kmamiya@saffairs.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.