PHILADELPHIA – The International Cultural Festival will celebrate the diversity that is University City from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 5, on 40th Street between Walnut and Locust. Visitors can take a gastronomical world tour at the food booths, shop the unique wares artists and crafters will display, and enjoy free musical and dance performances on an outdoor stage. The festival is open to the public and there will be free face painting for the children. Rain date is April 6.

The free entertainment begins at 11 a.m. with guitar soloist Iqram, followed at noon by Tamika Brooks, a rhythm & blues/neo-soul singer with the New Generation Drama Guild theater group. African a Capella will perform at 12:30 p.m., and the Flat Possum Boys will offer their own brand of "old time" bluegrass and country music at 1 p.m. The six-member band plays mostly original pieces and a few classics, performing most often at churches, weddings, parties, bars and the Last Word bookshop at 39th and Walnut.

At 1:30, Damakha will perform Indian selections, followed at 2 p.m. by Batukis, a Brazilian percussion-based ensemble that gives an authentically modern interpretation of the Brazilian traditional rhythms of samba, forró, samba reggae, afoxé, coco and maracatu. Batukis has performed at colleges, parades, festivals and a variety of clubs, restaurants and museums, locally and in New York, Miami and Rio de Janerio.

Performances of Latin dance by Onda Latina and Uzbeki dance by Aziza Zakhidova take to the stage at 2:45. A group of Penn students formed Onda Latina in 1996 to educate the community about Carribean and Latino dance. The 40-member group performs traditional Latin as well as hip hop, reggae and Mediterranean styles, at Penn and at other colleges and universities.

The Pan-Asian Dance Troupe takes the stage at 3 p.m. Created in 2001 through the fusion of Penn's Chinese and Fillipino dance groups, the 30-member ensemble performs both traditional and modern Asian pieces at Penn and elsewhere in the community.

Performing close on their heels at 3:30 will be the 25-member West Philly Swingers, a Penn student group that dances a mix of lindy hop, West Coast, savoy and shag. A descendant of the Penn Ballroom Society, the group performs both at Penn and regional competitions. The afternoon line up will conclude with a performance by Lebanese Fusion Jazz from 4-5 p.m.

Later in the evening, Puppet Uprising will present a free street show of puppetry and live music for all ages at 7 p.m. outside the Rotunda, 4012 Walnut Street, as a preview of the group's 8 p.m. performance inside. Many area businesses will provide live music and entertainment over the dinner hour. In addition, movies from the International Film Festival can be viewed later in the evening at The Bridge Cinema, 40th and Walnut streets, and International House of Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street.

Local restaurants planning to serve up specialties at the festival include:

• Bubble House: Sweet potato fries and the teahouse's own flavored teas with giant tapioca "bubbles;"
• Fatou & Fama: Cuisine from Senegal and the West Indies made with lamb, rice and beans, curry chicken, and fried plantain;
• Gojjo: Ethiopian stews, Ethiopian cheesteaks and the typical injera bread;
• Izzy & Zoe: Latkes, kugel, bagels & sandwiches;
• Zocalo: Contemporary Mexican cuisine, including envueltos (tortilla wraps), chips and homemade salsa;
• Dan's BBQ Chicken: Barbecue chicken or pork all the way from Lancaster county, with picnic-style drinks and traditional Pennsylvania baked goods;
• Simsum: French-Eastern Mediterranean Bistro;
• Vientiane: Vegetarian dishes from Laos such as pad thai, summer rolls and papaya salad.

Festival-goers will also want to browse these vendor tables:

• International House of Philadelphia: Offering information about its residential, cultural, film and educational programs as well as other University City and West Philadelphia cultural institutions, along with schedules of upcoming cultural events and activities;
• West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: Artwork, including beaded jewelry and blown glass for sale by affiliated artists;
• University City Arts League: Featuring pottery by artists affiliated with the Arts League;
• Isle of Paradise: Natural body care products and silver jewelry with traditional African influences;
• Ten Thousand Villages: Featuring handicrafts from around the world, from Indian linens to Vietnamese pottery;
• Ruka: International art, jewelry and crafts.

The festival is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania and its student groups, Change for Change and Undergraduate Assembly; Partnership CDC; City Paper; and International House of Philadelphia.

Home to more than 350 residents from over 80 countries, International House brings people together from different countries and cultures in a community to learn about and from each other in order to promote mutual tolerance and respect. From cultural, social and educational programs for residents, to the acclaimed Film @ International House, to the Spoken English Program, the mosaic of people and perspectives that come together through its residential and public programs can't be found any place else.

For further information, call Esaul at 215-805-2874.

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