Loyalist hosts cultural celebration as a part of Shark Tank anniversary
The cutting of the 25th birthday cake to kick off the Shark Tank’s week-long celebration. Photo by Kyle Ellington, QNet News
BELLEVILLE – As a part of the Shark Tank birthday week, Loyalist College held a cultural celebration Monday, one of many events during the week-long anniversary.
The Shark Tank is an important part of student life at the college. Pub nights, one of the many popular events that take place there, have become a staple of entertainment for students.
Monday’s celebration included music, dancing, henna tattoos, birthday cake and gifts, and a piece of art featuring Sharkie, the Shark Tank’s mascot, done in rangoli, an Indian art form.
A henna tattoo is made with dye from the henna plant – henna powder mixed with other ingredients, such as water or tea. The paste is placed in a small piping bag and then piped onto the skin.
In rangoli, an art form originating in the Indian subcontinent, patterns are created on the floor or the ground using materials such as coloured rice, flour, coloured sand or flower petals.
Monday’s event kicked off with the cutting of the 25th birthday cake. Students received a piece of cake along with a gift bag.
The celebration also included songs and dances from India’s culture.
One dance that students took part in was Punjab Bhangra, a popular folk dance from Punjab.
The 25th anniversary cake at the Shark Tank Pub. Photo by Kyle Ellington, QNet News
Jenish Patel, first-year leader of student government at Loyalist. Photo by Kyle Ellington, QNet News
Jenish Patel, the first-year leader on Loyalist’s student government, said he loves having events likes this at the college.
“We can gather different types of people and get different cultures,” he said.
Prahlad Varu, the board of governors student leader at student government, said, “It’s a cultural event and it’s organized by student government. It’s held because there are a lot of international students here and they’re feeling nostalgic. So we organized this event so they feel like they are at home.
“I find myself very lucky to be here and I always like to help other international students as well.”
Amandeep Kaur, a student from Bathinda, a city in Punjab, India, taking first-year project management, said she finds these events make it easier for international students to fit in.
Amandeep Kaur with a gift bag that was given out to students at the cultural celebration. Photo by Kyle Ellington, QNet News
“By attending this kind of event we can easily get familiar about the culture as well as interact with other people,” she said.
Apoorav Batra, another student from India, told QNet, “Canada is a multicultural country, so it’s good to have all the cultures in one building,” he said, adding that Loyalist “is always inviting to people all over the world.”
Batra agreed that having such cultural celebrations makes the college feel more welcoming.
“They are doing this for us as well – so that we get comfortable in this environment and we can get used to Canadian culture,” he said.
The next event will be games day on Wednesday at noon at the Shark Tank.
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