The Bechtel International Center at Stanford University held its annual International Spring Festival on May 1. The event, which was enjoyed by families as well as Stanford students and faculty, started six years ago when the center realized the great space it had to accommodate large groups of people.
“We have a wonderful facility. We’re one of a few international offices in the country, if not the only one with a wonderful building and a lawn and you want to use it,” said John Pearson, the director of the Bechtel International Center. “…With the wonderful weather, we decided we’d have an evening for entertainment.”
In previous years, Pearson said the evening was more about the food that different student organizations brought to sell instead of the dancing and singing. But the event has changed a little bit over the years, with more emphasis placed on the entertainment aspect of the festival. Pearson said the feedback has been positive.
“I think the feedback from the audience has really been: can you do this more often, could it go longer,” Pearson said. “It gets the audience energized, so if you get the right kind of dancing, it encourages audience participation.”
The center will continue to hold this event in future years and hopes to bring even more types of entertainment to add to the lineup.
