The University Record, July 22, 1998
Several units join to co-host annual multicultural festival
By Terri Gleason
Plant Building Services
Ethnic food, arts and crafts, and musical entertainment took center stage June 9 at the fourth annual Multicultural Food and Art Fest, which celebrates diversity throughout the University and surrounding community through sharing food, displaying art and entertainment, and mingling with colleagues and friends. Activities were held at the Media Union and Chrysler Center.
Building Services was joined in hosting the event this year by the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives, Plant Grounds and Waste Management, and the University Library and Building Services’ Diversity Committee, who discovered they were hosting similar events.
The first Multicultural Food Fest in 1994 was a spin-off from Plant Building Services’ Ethnic Lunch sessions. They were designed to enable Building Services’ staff to bring in a favorite home recipe so co-workers could enjoy a bit of what was possibly an unfamiliar cultural dish. The lunch sessions grew into a Food Tasting Fest, now a major annual event.
Entertainment included performances by the Business & Finance Diversity Choir, United Voices of Praise choir and the Debi & Kelly Duo. More than 1,200 helpings of various dishes were served by the 72 chefs on hand.
An opening ceremony included remarks from Nathan Norman, director of Building Services; Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon; Robert Kasdin, executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Lester Monts, associate provost for academic and multicultural affairs.
