On Saturday, Mar. 22, the Alerus Center hosted the 63rd Annual Feast of Nations, the single largest multicultural showcase event in the region. 

“For me, Feast of Nations is something that bridges cultures,” UND International Organization President Shree Ram Abayankar Balaji said. “It’s an event where I can see myself connecting with more and more multicultural people to learn about their culture, what is new with them, and what is the meaning of certain things that they have in their culture.” 

UND International Organization is an on-campus, student-led organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of cultures around the university and beyond. As the group that originally founded the Feast of Nations in 1961, they have been in charge of organizing the event for over 60 years. 

“All the preparation started in November [of 2024], which is very early. We’re in March, but the preparations started from November. It’s a lot of effort to put in, but it’s definitely worth it,” Balaji said. 

The event drew many visitors from outside of UND as well, including students from local high schools and even other colleges, such as Mayville State University, Northland Community & Technical College, and University of Minnesota Crookston. 

While the show officially began at 6 p.m., doors were opened an hour beforehand in order to allow guests the opportunity to showcase their formal and cultural attire on the red carpet. After a brief welcome by Balaji, followed by opening remarks from UND President Andrew Armacost, the night’s performances began. 

“During the audition time, we had such a huge crowd of people trying to get in, trying to perform,” Aditya Sapkota, Treasurer of UND International Organization, said. “We tried to be diverse, trying to focus on including everyone.” 

Indeed, the roster of songs and dances on display came from all across the globe: countries represented on the stage included India, the Philippines, Chile, Ukraine, Korea, and several more. In total, 17 separate cultural performances were featured over the course of the night. 

Two presentations of particular note were Grupo Rümel, a Chilean folk-dance group, and the Rozmai Ukrainian Dancers. Both of these acts are staples of Folklorama, a prestigious Canadian cultural festival held annually in Winnipeg. 

Provided in tandem with the various cultural displays was a four-course meal made up of signature dishes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Western Africa, New Zealand and Peru. These dishes were selected in part because of their relevance to the 2025 Feast of Nations’ theme. 

“One thing that is always a major focus of Feast of Nations is the theme, so this year we went ‘Desert Oasis,” Sapkota said. 

In keeping with this choice, nearly every dish on the menu originates from a country or region made up of a significant amount of desert, with the dessert date bars of New Zealand being the only exception. 

The celebration of different countries and cultures through events like the Feast of Nations is especially important at a campus as diverse as UND, which has nearly 1,000 international students enrolled from 97 different countries around the world. 

“It unites almost all of the countries across UND, and also across the Grand Forks community,” UND International Organization Vice President Sriram Prabhakara Rao said. “That brings us a very good [cultural] view which I can’t get anywhere except in this event. That makes the [Feast of Nations] very special.” 

Serving as emcees for the event were Nichole Dumlao and Jay Sankhla, two UND students who are highly involved in the celebration of diversity around campus. Dumlao previously emceed the 2024 Feast of Nations, while Sankhla is the current president of the Student Association of India. Before relinquishing the venue for an after-hours party hosted by multicultural DJ Eazy-B, the pair concluded the 2025 Feast of Nations with closing remarks that emphasized what the entire night was all about. 

“We hope that this evening not just entertained you but also expanded your appreciation for beautiful diversity that enriches our campus and our community,” Sankhla said. 

Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at quinn.berg@und.edu.