Delicious smells and radiant music filled the Health and Sports Center this Sunday at the 44th Scott D. Morris International Food and Cultural Festival. The event was open to community members and UNK students, so many could experience delicacies and performances from 11 different countries.

“Of course the food is pretty amazing,” said Peyton Ellis, a UNK alumni who travelled from Iowa to attend the event. “However, I think the performances and what these students put together and how much work they truly put into this is just absolutely phenomenal, very amazing. They put endless hours into this and so for them to share their cultures with us is the best thing ever.”

The event was organized by the Korean Student Association at Kearney, Japanese Association at Kearney and International Student Association.

The featured countries included Thailand, Belgium, Italy, Oman, Colombia, India, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Germany and Nepal. Performances and dishes were shared from each culture. Activities were featured such as henna, origami and translating names.

Some international students also wore traditional garb.  

“I’m from Nepal, and I belong to a small city,” said Namaste Burnima, a freshman at UNK. “It is a historical city, and I am wearing this typical Nepali dress, and I’m very happy to share my culture here at UNK.”