Mount Allison’s Multicultural Organization and Social Arena for International Cooperation (MOSAIC), a student-run organization, held their third annual Banquet last Saturday, March 16. The banquet was a celebration of multiculturalism that included great food and fantastic performances representing many countries around the world. The goals of MOSAIC are to bridge the gap between students from different cultures and to promote multiculturalism and international involvement in the Mt. A and Sackville community. The banquet demonstrated the success of MOSAIC in reaching these goals.
The event was held in Jennings Dining Hall, which was beautifully decorated with balloons, globe centrepieces, and colourful paper ornaments that dangled from the ceiling. The room quickly filled with students, professors, and Sackville community members of all ages, many dressed in culturally traditional clothing.
The evening started off with a delectable buffet-style dinner. It featured a wide array of dishes from twelve countries around the world. Guests began with a Mexican-style appetizer of chips and salsa. They then had the choice between soups from Thailand and Italy, salad from East Africa, and various main dishes, including choices from Brazil, Spain, India, Iran, China, and Korea, and finished with Canadian Nanaimo bars and Polish apple cake for dessert. Each dish had a unique and delicious flavour, and was prepared by both MOSAIC members and Jennings staff. “We had around fifteen cooks, and Chef Tom and his crew went above and beyond.” said MOSAIC Vice-President Margaret Kromminga, who coordinated the meal preparation for the event.
After dinner was served, there was a lineup of outstanding performances that provided excellent entertainment and a taste of many different cultures from around the world. Mt. A’s International Choir was first to perform, with two members singing a beautiful Japanese duet followed by a rendition of “Brother John” by the whole choir. The audience even joined in. There were many other performances, including a Chinese flute performance, a poetry reading, several dance numbers, a Bengali love song, and an acoustic version of “Oppan Gangnam Style”.
“The performances were so good!” stated Haruho Kubota, the President of MOSAIC. The audience agreed, cheering and applauding enthusiastically after each performance.
An award ceremony and a ‘Thank You’ video created by MOSAIC concluded the successful evening. Matali Sharan and Kubota received the Class of ’33 Award for promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding. The banquet ran smoothly and guests left satisfied after an evening of great food, entertainment, and mingling. But, what guests did not see were the months of hard work and planning behind the scenes. The members of MOSAIC put a lot of time and effort into making sure the event was a success, and this presented challenges at times. “It was hard to get a lot of people at this time of the year. Always having someone at ticket sales was a challenge,” Kromminga said, but in the end, “It has surpassed my expectations.”
The banquet proved to be an excellent chance to help bridge the gap between students from different cultures and to promote multiculturalism at Mt. A and within the Sackville community. Kubota claimed that the best part of the experience was the, “Teamwork. When everyone does their part, it comes together. And it did.”
