The second annual Amazing Taste sold out Thursday with more than 1,500 students taking part in the multicultural activities, said Patricia Lovett, director of the multicultural center.
This event was much different than last year's Amazing Taste, which took place outside between Woodworth and DeHority Complexes. This year, it was held in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
Abigail Lee, senior math education major, went to the Amazing Taste last year as well as this year. She said she liked the new location better.
"Putting it in the Student Center as opposed to outdoors made it much less chaotic and crowded, and I spent more time at the different booths and food areas," she said.
Lovett said her favorite difference this year was the amount of student participation they had. Student groups put on belly dancing, a global fashion show and a steel drum band.
The students could participate in the activities for free. Students paid a meal swipe to get into the food portion of the fair. Last year, the activities and food were together, so only students who paid could participate in activities.
"[This way] students don't necessarily have to feel like they're missing out," Lovett said.
The Amazing Taste took students to different countries without having to leave the four floors of the Student Center. Each floor was a different continent or region.
The basement was the Americas, which offered mock cocktails in New York, tacos in Mexico and an antioxidant-rich tea in Argentina.
European cuisine was located on the first floor in the Tally. Fish and chips were served in the United Kingdom and gelato in Italy. The PanUSA steel drum band offered entertainment in the dining area.
The second floor was Asian food with sushi in Japan and a pho soup bar in Vietnam. Calligraphy demonstrations were given and belly dancers and other performers entertained in the ballroom.
Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia were on the third floor and offered exotic dishes, such as al-Kabasa in Saudi Arabia and bolani in Afghanistan.
Logan Howard, freshman architecture and interior design major, said he thought the Amazing Taste did a good job representing other cultures and will be a part of it again next year. He said his favorite part was the food.
"The only thing I would do different is I would have liked to see more Native American food, because that's what I am," he said.
After the event, there was dancing in the ballroom.
"The dance party after was so fun," Howard said. "Everyone was so energetic and fun."
Lee said that although some students came to have fun, a lot could be learned from the Amazing Taste.
"I'm sure a lot of students just came for the food, but I stopped and talked to the booths for Scotland, Korea and Afghanistan, and I learned a lot from talking to the people representing those countries," she said. "I'm sure any of the students that stopped at the different tables learned a few interesting things."
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