Groups involved in the Cultural Festival include the ASC (Asian Society), CSA (Chinese Student Association), Deutsch Klub, French Circle, HSA (Hispanic Student Association) , ISO (Indian Student Organization), JA (Japan Association), MSA (Muslim Student Association), Society of Martial Artists, TSA (Turkish Student Association), and the VSA (Vietnamese Student Association).
Another first for this year's cultural festival, will be the representation of the Republic of Cyprus. Two WPI sophomores will setup a stand, exhibiting maps, photographs, handbooks, and leaflets on Cyprus, as well as offering samples of Cypriot hors d'ouevres, foods, and desserts.
The Japan Society will have several tea ceremonies, and origami (a traditional Japanese art of folding paper to form flowers, animal figures, etc.) demonstrations. The Asian Society expects to have a display of items from various Asian countries. The Deutsch Klub said that its exhibit will consist of pictures and videos showing the architecture and landscape of three German speaking countries, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Planned performances include singing, dancing, and martial arts exhibitions. Herrik Haensch, a graduate student, will sing "Ueber den Wolken", a German 'folk' song. Vietnamese students from Worcester's South High School will perform a Vietnamese Fan dance, and a WPI graduate student will perform a Thai dance. The CSA, ISO and TSA also plan to demonstrate traditional Chinese, Indian, and Caucasian dances. The HSA intends to enact "Down from the Caribbean", a musical and theatrical performance, while the Society of Martial Arts will display various martial arts.
Visitors will also be able to sample the native quisine of countries from all over the world, such as cheese from Cyprus, French crêpes, German salami and bread, Indian samosas, Puerto Rican pastries, and Vietnamese rice.
MSA's contribution to the Cultural festival will be different from most. It plans to display Islamic heritage in the form of calligraphy, paintings and pictures. It will also have a multimedia presentation describing MSA's role at WPI, and Islam in general. MSA will also provide an interactive database of the Quran, where the public will be able to search a topic and find the Islamic point of view on the particular point. A person from the MSA will also be writing in calligraphy on request.