What: The Amazing Taste
When: Thursday, Nov. 5; 5-8 p.m.
Where: L.A. Pittenger Student Center
Price: Students with meal plans - $8.20 or a meal swipe, Ball State students - $8.95, Non-Ball State students - $8.95 plus tax, 3-12-year-olds - $5.95 plus tax
Pre-order: Wristbands will be available for pre-order from Nov. 2-5 at the Student Center Tally Food Court
Activities: Food from more than 18 countries, live ice sculpting, a raffle drive, African drumming, a reggae and steel pan band, Brazilian music, salsa and cha-cha dance instruction, a caricature artist, a photo booth, a global fashion show, 15 student music and dance performances and a study abroad fair
The Amazing Taste will take place from 5-8 p.m. at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center and feature food from more than 18 countries, including the previously absent nations of Thailand, Israel, Morocco and Argentina.
Other new additions to The Amazing Taste include scorpions at the bug tasting, live ice sculpting and a raffle drive. Students will complete sheets by visiting certain booths and turn them in to be entered into a drawing for free items.
The Amazing Taste’s displays, activities and entertainment are free to students and the Muncie community, but admission to the food fair portion is a meal swipe, $8.95 for students without a meal plan, $8.95 plus tax for non-Ball State students and $5.95 plus tax for children aged 3 to 12.
There is a 1,500-person cap for the food fair, but people can pre-order wristbands at the Student Center Tally Food Court until Nov. 5. Tally will close at 1:30 p.m. on that day.
Ball State University Dining, the Multicultural Center, the Rinker Center for International Programs and University Program Board will sponsor the event. All the organizations have a role in organizing, planning, marketing and promoting the event, but they each make a specific contribution.
Dining is in charge of setting up and running the main food areas. There will be four different areas: Europe on the main floor, the Middle East on the third floor, the Americas in the basement, and Asia on the second floor.
Lucas Miller, an executive chef and an assistant director of Ball State Dining, helped organize Dining and made sure everybody stayed on task.
He said the event exposes Ball State students to the diversity of the student body.
The Multicultural Center is responsible for coordinating volunteers and booking the professional entertainment for the Tally Stage, as well as the henna tattoo artists, dance instructors and exotic animal show.
Ro Anne Royer Engle, a chairwoman on the planning committee, helped oversee the Multicultural Center’s Amazing Taste responsibilities.
“[The Amazing Taste is an] innovative and engaging event that is fun, informative and allows guests to learn about the art and culture and cuisine of different countries around the world,” she said.
The Rinker Center also helps. They get international students to set up booths.
Haruka Nakamura, an intercultural communications major, is a Japanese exchange student attending Ball State for one year. She will represent her cultural background with her friends at The Amazing Taste.
Nakamura is Ainu, an ethnic group from the northern part of Japan, according to the website for the Ainu Museum.
“It is important for me to share my culture,” she said. “A lot of American people don’t know about Ainu, and even not many Japanese know about Ainu. I want everyone to know [about] Ainu.”
Hannah Nunn, a sophomore criminal justice major, will be volunteering at The Amazing Taste. She said the event is important because it brings the international students together, but she likes it for other reasons as well.
“I am definitely excited about seeing all the food and tasting it, because I feel that we don’t get a huge variety on campus,” she said.
Other Amazing Taste activities include African drumming, a reggae and steel pan band, Brazilian music, salsa and cha-cha dance instruction, a caricature artist, a photo booth, a global fashion show, 15 student music and dance performances and a study abroad fair.
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