ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: JENNIFER MASON STAFF WRITER
Take a weeklong trip around the world without having to leave home, courtesy of the foreign students at Virginia Tech.
About 1,400 of the approximately 27,000 students at Tech are foreign students. To celebrate that variety of cultures, the Virginia Tech Council of International Student Organizations is sponsoring its 37th annual International Week. The event, which starts today and runs through April 14, is an opportunity to meet people and explore the cultural diversity that the university and Blacksburg have to offer.
The week features luncheons highlighting a different country each day. The meals may be accompanied by music, recipes and presentations from each culture. The cost is $3.50 a person. The feasting - with food from countries including South Korea and Thailand - starts at 11:30 daily in the Cranwell International Center.
Five movies, each from a different country, will be shown during the celebration, including "Il Postino" from Italy, "Neria" from Zimbabwe and two movies from China. Admission to each movie is $2.
Festivities kick off at 3 p.m. today with a parade starting at the Cranwell International Center and ending at 5 in front of Alumni Hall.
On Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., an International Street Fair will be held on College Avenue and Draper Road. Called a celebration of cultural unity and pride, the fair offers traditional music and food from many countries.
Other highlights of International Week will include:
A cricket game on the Drillfield at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak, a professor of humanities at Columbia University, will speak at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Colonial Hall in Squires Student Center. After his talk, at 7:30 in Haymarket Theatre, there will be an Indian classical dance performance. Admission will be $3.
A table tennis tournament will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, in the recreation center in Squires Student Center.
Hispanic dance lessons will be offered in the Slusher Tower main lounge at 7 p.m. Thursday.
At 7:30 p.m. April 12, a talent show will be held in Burress Auditorium; talents from all over the world will be presented.
A soccer game between the qualifying players and the Virginia Tech Varsity team will begin at 5 p.m. April 13 on the women's soccer field. From 6 to 9 p.m. an African fashion show and cultural dance will take place in Haymarket Theatre in Squires. The theme of the dance party, to be held that night is "A Celebration of Culture." The dance, which will have a $1 admission fee, will begin at 10 p.m. in Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires.
Events are open to the public. For more information, call 231-6035.
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