International Week kicked off Saturday afternoon, in conjunction with Greek Fest and the 5th annual Cultural Carnival, including entertainment, games and ethnic food.

Located in Central Park, the festival featured more than 20 different organizations from the Greek and international communities. Participating organizations used the event both as a fundraiser and to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

“I think the Cultural Carnival is always a good event for the campus,” said Carrie Anderson, program coordinator for the international student and faculty office. “It’s a fun way to get to know each other and cross the boundaries.”

Featured at the event was a variety of entertainment ranging from the sign sync group, Sync Akieo, performing the national anthem to a demonstration of medieval fighting from the Society for Creative Anachronism.

“We just want to put out an example of our armor, costumes, crafts and activities,” society member Norm Read said. “We love living history and today we have a chance to meet students who are interested in medieval times.”

Other performances were made by Sky Zero, Steel Pan, PRISM, NIU Aikido club and the Northern Black Choir.

Alpha Omicron Pi held AOPi in the Face, a game where students can throw whipped cream pies at people’s faces. Senior business major Alli Rennick said getting pied was worth it because the money was donated to Habitat for Humanity.

NIU Builds, another group at the carnival, is a three-year fundraising project in partnership with Kishwaukee Valley Habitat for Humanity Affiliate to build houses in the DeKalb area.

“We decided to work with Habitat for Humanity because they are trying to raise money for NIU Builds and we already raised a lot,” said Michelle Bringas, program coordinator for Asian-American resources. “We thought it would be a nice event to support NIU Builds.”