Hundreds of people crowded Court Street Saturday afternoon reveling in the midday heat with plates of curry chicken, donning lederhosen and kimonos and other international fare for the annual International Street Fair.
For 29 years, the festival has been an Athens staple. Accompanied by sunny weather this year, the fair began another successful ending to International Week.
“I come here almost every year,” Branka Sormaz, a senior studying computer science, said. “Why would you not come?”
More than 35 vendors lined the streets offering authentic foods from their respective countries. There were groups representing the cultures of countries from five continents through food, clothing, music and dancing.
Only registered student groups and local non-profits were allowed to hold booths, Amanda Yusko, international student adviser, said.
A stage set up at the intersection of Court Street and Washington Street held performances throughout the day.
One performer, Yuxi Li, a sophomore studying video production, did a traditional Chinese dance and song. Cloaked in a Peking Opera style kimono, the audience clapped in awe with each high note.
Li said that in her hometown of Xian, China, girls learn the traditional dances when they are young. Peking Opera is a type of traditional Chinese theater popular where she is from and in Beijing, she said.
“I’m glad I got to perform for my friends,” Li said.
rh317008@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
