Idaho State University Africa Night 2011 welcomes community Jan. 22 at Stephens Performing Arts Center

The Idaho State University African Student Association invites the whole community to experience the beautiful and exuberant culture of Africa at ISU Africa Night 2011 Jan. 22 in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center.

Dinner will be served in the Barbara J. Marshall Rotunda and entertainment will be performed in the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Performing Arts Center. In previous years this event that attracts hundreds was held in the Pond Student Union Ballroom.

"This promises to be the biggest and best Africa Night ever, and we think our patrons, both old and new, will enjoy the dinner and festivities in the elegance and grandeur of the Stephens Performing Arts Center," said Winnie Kimeu, president of the African Student Association. "This year we have added more performances, including singing and additional dances, and we are auctioning and giving away traditional presents."

The annual event will run from 5:30 to about 8:30 p.m. This year’s theme is "WAKA, WAKA, Around Africa in Two Hours" and it will showcase the rich traditional and contemporary culture of Africa.

The evening will offer a traditional African dinner, a fashion show, a flag show, traditional and contemporary African dancers, singing, cultural skits, poetry, vendors, an auction, a raffle, door prizes and African batik and jewelry for sale.

 The seven-course dinner menu consists of peanut butter soup from Ghana, pof pof (fried bread) from Cameroon, mokimo (a potato/vegetable dish) from Kenya, doro wat (chicken in red pepper paste) from Eritrea, injera (a flatbread) from Eritrea, beef stew from Ghana and, likely, palm kernel soup from Nigeria.

Beginning Jan. 10, tickets will be sold weekdays at the Pond Student Union and Rendezvous Complex from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prices for tickets purchased in advance are $7 for ISU students, $8 for ISU faculty and staff, and $9 for the general public. Tickets cost $1 more at the door. Children under age 5 have free admission.

The African Students Association is a group of students from Africa and the United States who work to promote awareness of the realities in Africa and to strengthen the diversity of the ISU community.

For more information, contact Kimeu at kimewinf@isu.edu.