The 21st annual International Festival of Cultures brings food, music, dancing, and games to Ferris for students and the community.

With 2,000 people showing up for the event last year, and 30 different countries being displayed this year, Janel Lockwood, International Student Organization advisor, is in high hopes of seeing as many people and more this year.

The festival will take place in the Rankin Center Dome Room on Sunday, April 19, from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no admission fee, but tickets have to be purchased for the food. Those can be bought starting April 13 at the International Center in FLITE 404.

Students who attend the event however, will receive three free tickets as a part of the Student Activities Fee. Those can be picked up at the event.

The International Student Organization will also be working with the Girl Scouts by having them bring food that people may enjoy besides international food, Lockwood mentioned.

Students helping show their heritage are responsible for bringing or making their own country’s food, music, clothes, games, and other entertainment that people may find interesting regarding the international countries’ likes and ways.

Lockwood said, “Students will be dressing up, making a PowerPoint, playing their country’s music on different instruments…showing different kinds of dances.”

“This is a good way for students and the community to connect with people that aren’t from the same country,” Lockwood said. “It’s good to learn about different heritages other than yours because it then brings different people together in a positive, peaceful way.

This event is sponsored by the Student Government. For more information contact Lockwood at x2824.

Nagata Shachu will show how the power of Japanese musical art forms can thrive in an American culture.

Nagata Shachu will combine “Japanese Taiko, which are Japanese drums, gongs, bells, wooden clappers, shakers, and bamboo flutes to create their masterful spectrum of sound,” according to the press release.

This show will take place in Williams Auditorium on Saturday, April 18 from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $18 for FSU faculty and staff, $16 for senior citizens 62 years of age and up, and $10 for Ferris students.

Nagata Shachu is based in Toronto, Canada and was started in 1998. This ensemble has toured all over the world.

According to Nagata Shachu’s Web site nagataschachu. com, this ensemble has created over 50 original scores and most are only ever played once or twice.

Nagata Shachu was formerly called the Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble. They changed it by keeping the founder of the Japanese taiko’s last name and adding shachu, which is a term for a performing troupe.

“The group’s principal aim is to rejuvenate this ancient art form by producing innovative and exciting music that seeks to create a new voice for the taiko,” according to their web site.

These instrumentalists are disciplined and straightforward when it comes to showing the audience this renovated art form, but are also expressful in the way they create the music.

They make sure the experience we get to see and hear is “powerful in expression, and heartfelt in its sincerity,” according to their Web site.

For more information contact Trinidy Williams at x5683 or visit the Williams Auditorium Web site at ferris.edu/arts/.

Need some time away from all of your stress due to school? That’s what Ferris Fest is for. Rap group Three 6 Mafia is coming to Big Rapids to headline the annual event.

Ferris Fest ’09 will take place at the Quad on Saturday, April 25 from noon to 5 p.m. This event is free for all.

Three 6 Mafia was the first rap group to win an Oscar and to play at the Academy Awards. They also have many gold and platinum singles and albums to their name, including their latest album, “Last 2 Walk,” released last June.

The reason it is titled “Last 2 Walk” is because of the groups multiple changes of members throughout the years.

“We’re the last two dudes to walk, DJ Paul and Juicy J,” Juicy J explains on their Web site, three6-mafia.com. “A lot of rappers come and go, because it isn’t easy. I understand what all artists go through, and that’s the main thing that keeps us going -- the grind and staying focused.”

Since releasing their first album, “Mystic Stylez,” in 1995, Three 6 Mafia has not lost any tone since then. With this album, they hope to grab listeners’ attention with the variety of stories, personal feelings, and realism that shows in each and every song.

DJ Paul and Juicy J talk about spring break and sexual desires in the album’s lead single “I’d Rather.” They produced “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)” to keep the girls dancing. Three 6 Mafia makes upbeat songs and smooth songs with guest singers Akon and Lyfe Jennings. On top of all of that, the group also talks about real-life situations in “Corner Man.”

“I was talking about how you might be young and you might get yourself into a situation where you stole a car or selling some rocks,” DJ Paul says on their web site about their song “Corner Man.” “It’s hard for people to trust someone when they’re like, ‘Oh, you went to jail for stealing, but you want to work at my grocery store?’”

“We get our inspiration from our hometown, Memphis, the home of blues and rock and roll. It’s a musical city, so we get our ideas from our culture,” Juicy J reveals on their web site.

Ferris Fest will also have a second stage line up with Joey Artibee, The Judgment of Paris, Saraph, and PBR. In the first stage line up at noon, the Treaty of Paris will be playing. The second act will consist of Spill Canvas, the third act will consist of Wrong Way, which is a Sublime tribute band.

Three 6 Mafia will be playing at 5 p.m. on the main stage. This show is for mature audiences only.

Ferris Fest is sponsored by many local businesses, including Animal Shack, Borics, B-Tan, Great Lakes Book Store, The Rapids, Y-not, PETA, Tioga/Venlo, Harry’s Rentals, Natural Beauty, and the Finance Division of Student Government.

For more information contact Shanyn Leonard at shanynlee@gmail.com or call x2610.