The International Place of the Claremont Colleges will host its 25th Annual International Festival: 25 years of Bringing the World Together, on Saturday, April 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The popular event, organized by I-Place staff and international students at The Claremont Colleges, is expected to attract nearly 4,000 students, staff, faculty, and community members to the CMC quad.

The International Festival is essentially “a gift to the Claremont community from the international students,”says I-Place director Charlene Martin. As usual, the colorful festival will include foods from around the world and live entertainment. Limpopo, a dance and music group from Los Angeles with strong roots in Russian folk music, will perform at 1 p.m. as the feature entertainment. Other scheduled entertainment, presented by students, includes a classical Indian dance, a traditional Aztec dance, a Korean fan dance, dances of Latin America, and a “world band” featuring an eclectic mixture of sounds.

Although details are still evolving, food and craft booths representing such countries as Turkey, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, Greece, Mexico, and China are planned for the event. (Modest fees will be charged for food items.)

Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

Martin predicts that recent world events may add a somber tone to this year's festival. But with 726 international students from 84 different countries currently enrolled at The Claremont Colleges, the event’s intended goal of provoking greater cultural awareness seems more appropriate now than ever, she says.

Says Martin, “It will be a celebration of hope of what the world could be, not a reflection of what it seems to be.”