Many cultures converge at college

Indian Tacos, Taiko Drummers, bagpipe music - this year's multicultural festival at Western Nevada Community College promises to be bigger and better than the past 10 years over which it has developed.

"We are expanding the festival with more exhibits and we're trying to pull in different entertainers," said Claire Yurovchak, festival chairwoman of this year's planning committee and campus life program coordinator. "Since we've established the tradition, I think people are coming to expect certain things and a lot of that is the ethnic food we provide."

This year's one-day festival is scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. May 13. Admission is free, and includes shows of cultural dance, children's craft projects and heritage displays. Only the food must be paid for.

"The thinking behind the fair is to provide programming around the idea of multiculturalism and to recognize groups within the community and bring them up to the college and really show the Carson and surrounding areas what kind of diversity we have in the surrounding community," she said.

Many local restaurants ` sell food at the event, and Indian tacos, which is a dish that uses fry bread topped with a combination of beef and beans, followed by lettuce and cheese and a hot sauce, are the most popular, said Yurovchak.

Recent attendance shows that between 300-400 people attend each year, an indicator to Yurovchak that the festival is attracting more and more attendees.

"One of the things we're trying to do is establish the time of the year," she said. "People can expect that every year toward the beginning of May, the multicultural festival is going to be at WNCC."

This year, she hopes there will be more children's craft projects. The Children's Cultural Corner is one of her favorite places anyway.

The corner is sponsored by WNCC's early childhood development diversity class, and should include ribbon braiding and Irish folk dancing this year.

"It's fun to watch the children do arts and crafts and last year they did masks," she said. "I like to watch the entertainers too and the food, of course, is pretty good."

Some of this year's exhibitors expected to attend are: Bantu Spirit, Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers, the Chinese Cultural Group, the Daughters of Norway, the Japanese Student Action Network, Nevada Hispanic Services, Nevada Society of Scottish Clans, Romiti Art and Soka Gakkai International.

Anyone who wants to exhibit at the festival or be a food vendor should call Yurovchak at 445-3324.

"We are looking for local people who want to participate in this festival," she said.

• Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill by email at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.

If you go

WHAT: WNCC Multicultural Festival

WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Western Nevada Community College, 2201 W. College Parkway

CALL: 445-3324