Spanish flamenco, German comedy sketches and classic French accordion tunes share the stage at the fourth annual Language Festival at Sonoma State University from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 18.
Spoken language is a also big part of the day as local middle school and high school students compete in language contests with the encouragement and support of SSU students and faculty. These contests include poetry, diction, public speaking, and literary competitions in French, German and Spanish. SSU students will serve as greeters, judges, and language-specific tour guides for this portion of the event.
"Students often have the chance to compete athletically, but opportunities for academic competitions are much more rare," says French professor and Department Chair Suzanne Toczyski. "The Language Festival gives students of all levels a place to show off all that they've learned in a real-world context."
"The students love displaying what they have learned in a fun and entertaining way; at the same time, this is a serious academic contest and all participants should be proud of their achievements. Winning in the contest may also enhance the students' future college applications, which is a nice plus," says German professor Michaela Grobbel.
After a short brown-bag lunch, SSU students, high school students, and faculty will join together in a cabaret extravaganza in the Cooperage, including musical and dramatic performances in French, German, Spanish, Farsi and Japanese. In between the various numbers, the audience will be entertained by jazz musicians from SSU's music program.
"It's so fun to hear people singing in other languages!" says Tamara Bunge, co-president of the Cercle Francais, SSU's French Club, while Spanish professor Tania de Miguel Magro calls it, "Cultural diversity at its best. Get ready to travel the world without leaving the campus. Who knows, you might end up watching a French student wearing a kimono and singing flamenco in German!"
In 2004, over 200 people attended the Festival and many went home with a wide variety of prizes for their competitive efforts. This year's prizes include French music CDs, German Soccer Cup-related items, a variety of Swiss books, posters, computer games and other language-related software, gift certificates to local restaurants and more.
Admission to the festival is free with the exception of the cabaret, which is $3 at the door. The public is welcome.
For more information, contact Suzanne Toczyski, Chair, Department of Modern Languages & Literatures, at (707) 664-4177.
