CSUN’s 16th annual Carnaval, a celebration of diversity, drew students of all backgrounds with the lure of free food and fun activities to the USU’s Plaza del Sol.

Students were able to enjoy activities such as dance and musical performances, henna tattoos, calligraphy and arts and crafts.

“We have a very large diverse campus here and we’re very proud of that here at the USU so Carnaval was established to celebrate the diversity of culture,” said Sam Baker, 23, event assistant for lectures and cultures.

In the African portion of the event the African Music Ensemble performed three dances from an indigenous tribe in Ghana.

One of the dance’s performers Emily Blanco, an 18-year-old freshman vocal performance major, said that she liked how enthusiastic students were to participate.

“I love the fact that everyone’s face lit up when we started dancing. I think I even got commented on how I was really into the music,” Blanco said.

Traditional African dishes were also made available for students to taste.

“The food that I liked the most was the quiche and also this soup. I don’t know what it is but it’s really good,” said Jonathan Contreras, 20, a computer information technology major.

A crafts station was set up for students to use African symbols to make pieces of art.

“I actually made a symbol which means the power of love and then they gave out markers and little canvases to draw on. It has the most meaning and I think that this world needs love,” said Kristy Lately, a 21-year-old junior recreation tourism management major.

Some new performers came to the long-standing event to share some culture with students.

One of those new components are games that students are familiar with but may not know the origin of.

“We have Uno and chess but we listed at the tables where you play them the origin of the game if we were able to find it. Chess is an ancient game but for Uno we have a fun anecdote for how it was established,” Baker said.