The 48th annual Feast of Nations will be held this year on February 27, at the Alerus Center. The UND International Organization (IO) has been offering this exciting cultural experience to the Grand Forks community for almost five decades, and this year’s Feast of Nations event promises to be more outstanding than ever.

The main performers of the nights will be Polish Folk Dance Ensemble SPK Iskry and Evans Coffie, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and dedicated to building bridges between cultures through colorful and exciting performance.

Iskry was founded in 1967 and has thrilled and captivated audiences across North America and Europe ever since with a repertoire rich in depth and its diversity of vibrantly coloured, hand-crafted costumes. Iskry, when translated into English means “sparks”, is a perfect descriptor for the world-traveled group whose fiery performances are marked by phenomenal leaps, dives and beautiful folk dance.

Evans Coffie, also known as Coffieman, is an outstanding performer of the music and dance of West Africa, particularly from Ghana where he participated with the National Dance Company for a number of years. He has led various ensembles and troupes throughout his career both in Africa and Canada. Evans has been a member of the Ghana Dance Ensemble for 11 years, touring Europe, USA, Canada, Soviet Union, Caribbean and Africa.

Along with Polish Ensembly SPK Iskry and Evans Coffie, performances never seen in the area before, the Feast of Nations will also include cultural performances by the UND students in a variety of styles. A delicious full course ethnic meal will complete the experience. Finally La Clave Del Sol, an exciting band with a talented and creative stage presence, will keep the audience captivated and dancing to the Latin rhythms representing both traditional and contemporary Latin music.

Attire is semi-formal/formal. Doors open at 5.00 pm. Arrive early to explore cultural displays from countries all over the world. This will definitely be an experience not to be missed.

Tickets are now on sale at the Memorial Union Info desk January 19th- February 26th, 2010, Alerus center or online through Ticket Master (with additional charge). Ticket prices are as follows: $10- student/kid ticket $15- non-student (including faculty and staff) $200- table reservation (10 seats). Vegetarian meals are available as well. For table reservations, call 701-777-3622 M-F, 8.00a-4.30p, or 701-330-8189 during other hours or e-mail ekaterina.bryleva@yahoo.com.