Southeast Missouri State University students and faculty got a taste of Slavic culture on Saturday night at the first-ever Slavic Showcase held at the University Center. Hosted by the Slavic Association, the event featured a presentation on culture, live music, dancing and dinner.

The Slavic Association is a new student organization on campus that was created just last semester, said Alyona Ivchenko. Ivchenko, vice president of the Slavic Association, said this was the first event of its kind to take place at Southeast.

“We’ve seen Indian night and Chinese night, but we’ve never seen something Eastern European,” Ivchenko said.

Ivchenko said planning and advertising for the showcase began in November and has been a lot of work.

“We want people to learn something new about Eastern Europe, who are those people and why are they called Slavs,” Ivchenko said. “There are about 15 Eastern European students on campus.”

The event began with a presentation of Slavic culture by two Ukrainian students, Bohdana Kyhmych and Alex Fedorchenko. The presentation covered many aspects of culture, including the countries that are considered Slavic, common customs, holidays, food and the many differences between Slavic and American culture.

Following the presentation, guests were invited to eat the national cuisine, prepared and served by volunteers. The meal featured two different salads, beets, chicken, and Nutella and apple crepes for dessert.

After the meal, members of the Slavic Association gave many performances, including a fashion show, the singing of a Ukrainian song and dancing native to the Ukraine.

For the final activity of the evening, the guests were asked quiz questions about what they had learned about Slavic culture. Correct answers were met with gift bags.

The event garnered support from volunteers of other student organizations, such as the Jane Stephens Honors Program and the International Student Association. Even the president of the university, Dr. Carlos Vargas, and his wife, Pam, were able to attend the showcase.

President of ISA, Harman Malhi, attended the event to show her support of the Slavic Association.

“[The Slavic Association] really needed the encouragement and support from the entire campus because tonight was their first event,” said Malhi. “I hope that the great response tonight helps them in the future.”

For more information on the Slavic Association, contact Ivchenko at aivchenko1s@semo.edu.