Diverse talents featured at Goshen College International Coffeehouse on March 8

 

GOSHEN, Ind. – Talent from around the world will be offered close to home again this year at the International Student Club Coffeehouse variety show at Goshen College on Saturday, March 8.

 

The annual cultural showcase, which will begin at 7 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall, will feature diverse talent as well as participation and planning help by about 115 students, said Carl Barnett, the international student adviser at Goshen College.

 

“There will be a wide variety of student performances from many cultures. For example, we’ll have a fan dance from Korea/China, a Latin American salsa dance, plus a dramatic reading from Vietnam, some singing from Latin America and traditional dances from Africa and Nepal,” Barnett said.

 

“Our international students enjoy the International Student Club Coffeehouse because it gives them a chance to share their cultures with an American audience. Also, many of them simply enjoy performing and working together with students from many places to present a diverse show like this.”

 

This semester, Goshen College has international students from 22 countries on campus, plus many students who grew up in one country but are citizens or permanent residents in the United States now.

 

“We don’t have large concentrations of students from any single country, so our international students do a great job of making friends across all sorts of boundaries,” Barnett said. “Since we’re all living in a global village these days, we all need to get to know something about other people’s cultures. This annual coffeehouse is a most entertaining way to do that.”

 

Tickets for the show are $10 for adults and $6 for children under 12. Tickets are available at the Welcome Center in the college’s Union building or by calling (574) 535-7566.

 

The profits this year will be donated toward an international student with financial need for tuition, International Student Club activities and to an international humanitarian project. Last year, $950 was contributed to Peruvian earthquake relief.

 

The annual variety show will be preceded by an international buffet in the College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall, which is sold out.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

###

 

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.