Culture Shock, an annual event that features various activities and perfomances aimed at broadening students’ horizons, was held Saturday in the Union.

Everything involved was free to the public.

“The goal of the event is to foster interaction between different cultural groups and to help facilitate learning about different cultures,” said Ritu Parikh, freshman in LAS and member of Together Encouraging the Appreciation of Multiculturalism (TEAM), which sponsored the event along with Illini Union Board.

Throughout the night, students were able to watch various song and dance groups perform, taste the food of different cultures, play games and learn to dance.

The “Oh Yeahs” kicked off the night with an acoustic performance. They were followed by several dance groups representing specific cultures in a room decorated from wall to wall with the flags of countries from around the world.

Groups performing included Ghungroo Dance Company, Egyptian Fusion Dance, Orgullo de Latino America and Alpha Kappa Delta Phi.

“I’m seeing a Polish dance for the first time ever. It’s pretty interesting,” said Steve Kang, freshman in business.

A line for food stretched well across the audience area and past many informational cultural exhibits. Food served included baklava, horchata, koeksisters, joll of rice, meat pies, tomato bruchetta and chicken satay with peanut sauce.

In the Courtyard Cafe, dancing lessons were given in the areas of hip hop, Indian dancing and belly dancing.

Games available in the art gallery were hosted by the Mah-Jong Club, Italian Connection and Korean American Students Association. The games, along with all the activities of the night, brought several cultures together to learn about the norms of other cultures.

It was a night to celebrate distinct cultures and blend them together.

“I think it’s very important for culture to be a diverse pot, for everybody to just be in one whole thing,” said David Curran, junior in business.

TEAM was created in 1997 in response to a racial incident on campus. The organization promotes cultural awareness of and interaction between different cultures.

In addition to Culture Shock, the group sponsors Night Market, TEAM retreat, Unity Month, International awareness events, volunteer projects and runs “Peel” multicultural magazine. The magazine is published twice a year and gives students a chance to speak about multiculturalism through poetry, stories and essays. They have also assisted in the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. conference since 2000.

To learn more about the organization, visit www.uiuc.edu/ro/team/.