Hanh Huynh and Chi NguyenGraduate students Hanh Huynh and Chi Nguyen share the culture of their homeland, Vietnam, during the Celebration of Nations, Thursday in the CAW Student Centre.

Crowds throng multicultural festival

Chi Nguyen has only one regret about setting up a display to share her Vietnamese heritage with the campus during the Celebration of Nations — that she didn’t do it sooner.

“We have a lot of traditions that I am proud of,” the masters student of civil engineering said Thursday as she greeted visitors to a booth in the CAW Student Centre Commons. “Vietnam has a history of over 4,000 years.”

She and her friend Hanh Huynh covered a table with a map of their homeland, scenic photos, traditional foods, and cultural artifacts.

“This is the first year we have done this,” Nguyen said. “I don’t know why!”

The annual event highlights the diversity of the campus community. Hundreds of students, staff and faculty toured displays representing about a dozen nations, and took in performances of music and dance.

While the intention is to welcome every contribution, judges ranked the booths in a competition. This year’s winners were India, Somalia and Saudi Arabia.