The 5th annual Cultural Carnival and World Showcase will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday in Central Park, between Stevenson and Grant Towers.

“By attending the Cultural Carnival, students have the opportunity to see different cultures come together in a community celebration,” said Carrie Anderson, program coordinator of international student and faculty offices.

Games and music from a variety of nations will be presented, and food booths featuring ethnic cuisines will be available.

The event will feature performances from Sky Zero, Steel Pan, PRISM, the NIU Black Choir, Medieval Theatre and the sign language group Sync Akieo.

The event has been going on for five years and was started by Cultural Connections, which brought together all the different groups on campus.

“The goal of the Cultural Carnival is to remind people that we need to celebrate the differences that make us one,” Anderson said.

In the past, carnival attendance has averaged between 200 and 300 people.

“Since the location of the carnival is at Central Park, it will attract more people from the residence halls,” said Michelle Bringas, the program coordinator for Asian American resources. “A new attraction to the show will be a tap dance performance and a speech by Ivan Legg, provost for academic and student affairs.”

Along with the Cultural Carnival, the Ramayana Conference 2001 will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday in the Chick Evans Field House.

The Ramayana Conference is sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at NIU.

The Ramayana is an Indian epic poem. It is a story about a noble prince, Rama, his wife, princess Sita, the demon king, Ravana, who kidnaps Sita and the white monkey general, Hanuman, who helps to rescue her. The story has been a powerful theme in Indian arts, literature and religion since its inception.

There will be ethnic food vendors, and the day’s events will include audience participation in workshops and exhibitions. The audience will experience a diverse Ramayana-related dance and performances from India, Thailand and Indonesia.

“There will be five to 10 vendors at the convention from the Indian Student Association,” said Mumta Taneja, Vice President of ISA and a junior business administration major. “The ISA board will be at the convention and will have a booth set up to promote ISA membership and more Indian Activities.”

The goal of ISA is to promote more people to join the club, introduce more Indian activities, provide a social gathering for Indian students and help encourage transfer and freshmen students to get more involved with other Indians, she added.