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IU Kokomo alumnus sets the drumbeat for International Day Festival
October 29, 2004 | |||||
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KOKOMO, Ind.---The lively music of RhythmWorks!, headline entertainers for IU Kokomo's 2004 International Day Festival, makes listeners "want to get up and dance, with abandon and joy," according to one reviewer. RhythmWorks! is the brainchild of IU Kokomo alumnus Vincenzo Carrasco and his wife, Judith Hizer. A professional drummer for 12 years, Carrasco has recorded with rock and fusion bands. Hizer has recorded with a women's drum circle, and has been a performance poet for the last six years. Their interactive, multicultural performances use drums and various instruments from many nations to present original compositions, as well as arrangements of traditional Middle Eastern and African songs. Open from 11 a.m.--3 p.m. in the Kelley Student Center, the International Day Festival also offers additional entertainment, food, and displays that celebrate of global cultures. The Shalamar Middle Eastern dancers will perform, along with bagpiper Hope Oaks and students of the Kokomo Montessori School. Visitors can enjoy a tae kwon do demonstration and a program on Indian culture, as well as foods representing German, Asian, African, and U.S. cuisines. Shabira Virjee will offer hand decorating with henna art at one of the many booths in the cultural marketplace. The festival kicks off IU Kokomo's observance of International Education Week. Highlights of the week will include two forums for international discussion on Tuesday, November 16, and a reception honoring the campus' international faculty, staff, and students on Thursday, November 18. At 10:30 a.m. on November 16, a live videoconference will link participants at IU Kokomo with English language students at Slovak University of Technology in the city of Trnava, Slovakia. Kevin Taylor, a faculty member for the Purdue University School of Technology Kokomo, will coordinate discussion in Room 149 of the Kelley Student Center. An associate professor of electrical and computer engineering technology for Purdue, Taylor has set up regular video exchanges between the Slovakian students and his students in a Professional Issues course. "It's a way to give our students an international experience without them going half way around the world," Taylor said. He and Purdue Associate Professor of Computer Technology Rick Homkes met some of the Slovakians during a visit to that university in 1999. From 11 a.m.--1 p.m. on November 16, IU Kokomo will host a gathering in the Bogle Room, bringing together international exchange students visiting area high schools. Visiting Professor of Nursing Yoon Jin, Ph.D., will speak during the November 18 reception for international residents on campus. Jin will reflect on cultural difference and similarities she has experienced while spending the academic year at IU Kokomo. She is here on exchange from Margaret Pritchard University (MPU), a nursing school in Chonju, Republic of (South) Korea. IU Kokomo and MPU have exchanged faculty and students for several years, in a program headed in Indiana by Associate Professor Linda Wallace, Ed.D. Jin and Wallace are team teaching the class Korean Culture and Health Care.
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