Night of All Nations

April 20 will be the date for Night of All Nations in UNR.

Below will be the article


UNR students cook up a trip around the globe
LENITA POWERS RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Posted: 4/19/2007

CANDICE TOWELL/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Members of the Taiwan Culture and Student Association, Antony Chen, Sylvia Liu and Min-Hsin Lee, display Egg Lu-Dan, Pork Rou-zao-fan and the milk tea Nai-cha on Wednesday at Liu’s apartment.

The 600 boiled eggs for Lu-Dan have been soaked in soy sauce and sugar.
Eight huge pots of the ground pork dish called Rou-zao-fan are ready to crown fluffy mounds of rice and to be washed down with 25 gallons of Nai-cha, a sweet milk tea.
Preparing food for 5,000 guests isn't easy, but the international students at the University of Nevada, Reno have been busy fixing the speciality dishes for the public to sample at Friday's 25th annual Night of All Nations.

"Sometimes, it's hard to cook for so many," said Alfred Lee, vice president of the Taiwan Culture and Students Association that was in charge of the boiled eggs, pork and milk recipes.

"That's why we divide the cooking among the group and do it at different houses," said Lee, an information systems major. "It's a fun activity to introduce our culture to other people, and our government supports us with information to hand out."

Since its inception, Night of All Nations has grown from a small event that drew several hundred people to one of the largest multicultural events in the nation.
"Last year, about 3,900 people came, and this year we expect 5,000," said Navgeet Zed, event chairman.

The event will be from 6 to
9 p.m. at the Lawlor Events Center.
Previously, samples of the foods from various countries were served starting at one specific time. This year, the foods will be served in four different shifts on the hour, starting at
6 p.m. and with the last serving starting at 9 p.m.

"We're trying to ration out the food so everyone can enjoy it," Zed, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, said.

Those who come to the event will be given a sample taste of the various exotic dishes.
Zed said the event will include dancers from Turkey, Africa and Nepal, a musical performance from Japan and a finale by Controlled Burn, a group of fire dancers.
Susan Bender, UNR director of international students and scholars, said the event gives the community an opportunity to learn about different cultures.

"Being able to meet and get to know people from around the world is extremely important today," Bender said.

"It's an eye-opening experience to learn about the different ways of communicating and of looking at the world. If we ever hope to work together on issues that affect the entire world, like the environmental crisis, we need to gain those skills to learn to work together effectively," she said.

To commemorate its 25th year, Night of All Nations will feature 25 free activities as part of the admission price.

"You can learn calligraphy, various dances and how to make mosaics," Zed said. "We will also have a time capsule booth where we will record memories from the event that night for the years to come."

High school students and children of all ages can take part in the same free activities and learn about different countries from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at Lawlor.

"We started doing that last year in an effort to reach out to the entire community," Zed said.
Pauline Filemoni, UNR international student adviser, said Night of All Nations is the largest multicultural event in the Western region and possibly the nation.

"I don't think there is any other event of this scale in the nation," she said. "I know UCLA (the University of California, Los Angeles) has one that brings in about 1,000 people, and Hawaii has a weeklong event, but its biggest night only has about 500 people."
Night of All Nations usually is a break-even event, Filemoni said. It made about $6,000 from ticket sales last year, but the students are reimbursed for the cost of the food they must prepare. There also are assorted expenses associated with media equipment set up for the performances and other items.

The Associated Students of the University of Nevada helped cover the discounted rental of the Lawlor Events Center this year, Filemoni said. Fundraisers also were held before the event to help with the costs, and Best Buy donated $4,000, she said.

"I think this can be a signature event for this campus," Filemoni said. "It has always been student-led. That's what I love about it."