More than 300 people gathered Saturday for International Fusion at the International Cultural Center, which featured an exhibition and performances from about 20 countries.
The International Student Association event began with an exhibition featuring booths with food and souvenirs and ended with performances from various countries and an international dinner from area restaurants.
“There was a really strong spirit to yesterday’s event that’s hard to manufacture,” said Maureen Hewitt, manager of the International Cultural Center.
Event organizers aimed to familiarize international students, American students and the Baton Rouge community with international cultures, said Deepmala Agarwal, cardiovascular physiology doctoral student and president of the International Student Association.
Agarwal said between 300 and 400 people visited the six-hour event. Countries in areas like Latin America combined into continents for the exhibition.
Maria Aguilar, marketing junior from Guatemala, said International Fusion has multiple purposes.
“It’s a big event that brings all the cultures together and shows the diversity that LSU has,” Aguilar said.
Pram Abhayawardhana, a chemistry graduate student from Sri Lanka, said the event allowed international students to mingle.
Agarwal said Soka Gakkai, a Japanese Taiko drum team from New Orleans, international dancers from Houston and members of a Sri Lankan community from New Orleans visited the Fusion event.
Food was provided by students and catered by international restaurants in the area, Agarwal said.
Chukwudi Chukwudozie, petroleum engineering graduate student from Nigeria, said the event demonstrated other countries’ cultures through performances.
“The event is trying to bring people from other countries together,” Chukwudozie said.
Hewitt said the exhibition hadn’t been hosted in about five or six years, and this year’s International Fusion is the first time something like this has been hosted at the ICC.
Hewitt said moving the event from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to the International Cultural Center this year helped the performers achieve an “intimate connection with the audience.”
Hewitt said the PMAC is an expensive and large venue where students had to shout to be heard.
Hewitt said she was initially worried about the logistics of hosting the event in such a smaller location, but it “just really worked.”
Hewitt said the door money was used to help cover the expenses of the event. 
Agarwal said the International Student Association wants to work toward hosting Fusion again next year.
 
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Contact Celeste Ansley at [email protected]