Chilly evening temperatures did not keep the approximately 400 people from attending the annual Center for Inclusion and Diversity (CID) sponsored Taste of the World event hosted by Bridging the Gap (BTG) at the Cardinal Foley Campus Center.
According to organizers, Taste of the World helps celebrate diversity and cultures on St. Joe’s campus by sharing foods and traditions from different cultures.
Destiny Little ’23, publicist for BTG, said the main purpose of the event was to bring cultural awareness to the St. Joe’s community that they may not be aware of.
“I think that sharing foods from different cultures helps people understand why this event is so important,” Little said. “We’re bringing this to a community where these cultures are not really shown on a daily basis. So having an event like this, people can see and be on the forefront.”
BTG hosts and runs the event in collaboration with other affinity organizations in the CID, according to Little.
Other student groups participating in the event included the Black Student Union (BSU), the Italian Club, the Latinx Student Association (LSA), Hawks of India and the African-Caribbean Student Association (ACSA).
Daniella Campos ’23, co-president of LSA, said the Taste of the World event pushes people out of their comfort zones and allows them to learn about people from different backgrounds that they normally would not.
“Taste of the World allows them to taste something that they have never tried before and then maybe will continue to do so, and even learn more about the culture,” Campos said. “Who knows? It might even turn into their favorite food.”
Food vendors at the event included Korea Taqueria, The Little Sicilian Rice Balls, Lokal Artisan Foods, Scoops and Smiles, and Plum Pit Food Truck.
Rene Lopez, who was serving food from the Korea Taqueria food truck, said their food is a combination of two cultures that are uniquely paired together.
“It’s like a fusion of Korean food mixed with Mexican stuff like the peppers and the tortillas,” Lopez said.
Vince Scavo, an employee of The Little Sicilian Rice Balls food truck, said they serve traditional Sicilian foods.
“We serve arancini, which are Sicilian rice balls, so they are breaded risotto balls with all different fillings,” Scavo said.
For those who wanted to get a little warmth, activities inside of Cardinal Foley included a DJ, free henna design and culturally rooted activities such as making waist beads.
Susan Mbombab ’23, president of ACSA, said waist bead making is “a great way to participate in African-Caribbean culture.”
“Waist beads have different meanings across different African and Caribbean countries, in some they’re used as a coming of age for women,” Mbombab said. “They’re just a pretty big aspect of African-Caribbean culture.”
Milton O’Brien ’25, secretary of academic affairs of the University Student Senate (USS), said his favorite part of the event was the food.
“There’s a lot of diversity in the food,” said O’Brien. “It’s a good chance to experience what other people in other countries eat.”
Toward the end of the event, Khmer Performing Arts and Culture, a Cambodian culture organization, performed three traditional Cambodian dances: Robam Apsara, the Moon Love dance and the Coconut dance.
“Our purpose is to share and preserve Cambodian culture for future generations,” said La Koung, a performer from the Khmer Performing Arts and Culture. “We wanted to share fun, energetic dance with you all to end off the night, and we hope our passion revitalizes you.”
