Silver coins hanging from Amanda Tylka's red outfit jingled as she gyrated Friday evening on the HUB-Robeson Center lawn.

"It's really fun to get the crowd going," Tylka (sophomore-recreation, park and tourism management) said. "Belly dancing is always a crowd-pleaser."

Music and free food lured more than 2,000 visitors to the HUB lawn Friday night for the second annual World Cultural Festival.

At the booths representing various countries, visitors could sample international foods and browse through multicultural displays.

Some festival visitors participated in a scavenger hunt, earning stamps in a "passport" by visiting representatives of various countries.

Visitors earning eight stamps could enter a drawing to win free books for the spring semester.

"Every time I turn around, somebody's like, 'You have a stamp?'" festival volunteer Bashay Jones (senior-media studies) said.

Jones handed samples of a drink called "lassi," an Indian drink made of mango, sugar and yogurt.

Several tables featured an assortment of ethnic arts and crafts that students could buy.

Overall project coordinator for the Association for India's Development (AID) Shivakumar Jolad sold handmade bracelets and necklaces made of black and tan clay beads.

Jolad said the jewelry was made by women in Southern India. The Penn State chapter of AID sells the jewelry and distributes it to other groups across the U.S. The proceeds go back to the Indian women.

"Most of them were much below the poverty line," Jolad said. "With this, they are the breadwinners of the family."

Phyllisa Smith (graduate-African American Theater) sold purses and neckties made from materials representing different ethnicities.

Smith said her mother taught her how to sew, a tradition passed down to her by her grandmother.

"It maintains a certain family heritage," she said.

Festival planning started in May, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center Toby Jenkins said.

"This year we have a much larger crowd," Jenkins said. "We handed out over 2,000 meal tickets. Everything has grown."

Visitors enjoyed free hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, pretzels and popcorn.

"Free food always tastes better," Rachel Arndt (junior-chemical engineering) said.

Students relaxed on the lawn with their plates of food while they watched performances by several multicultural dance group including Penn State International
Dance Ensemble, Raw Aesthetic Movements squad and the Halal Dance Ministry, among others.

Co-captain of the African Student Association's dance group Carnie Eyoum said the group performed Coupe-Decale, a type of dance that originated in the Ivory Coast.

"It is a very structured dance, but allows us to incorporate our own sense of style," Eyoum said.

Many other students volunteered at the festival, either representing organizations or simply helping out wherever they were needed.

"It's a celebration of world culture through food, fun and learning," said Brett Bergen (sophomore-psychology and finance), a volunteer at one of the food sample tables.

Jones said the festival was a unique opportunity for Penn State students from different backgrounds to come together.

"Usually if you're in the HUB, everything's segregated -- people sit at their own tables," she said. "Everybody's here just having fun, enjoying each other's company."