About Us
Spanish Festival 2008
Each year, the Spanish honor society Sigma Delta Mu and club advisor Mrs. Martha Bieber work in conjunction with the UA Fort Smith Department of World Languages to bring to campus the flavors of the Hispanic world. New to the festival in 2008 was the Poetry Recitation Competition. Taking first place was Laura Sánchez from DeQueen High School. Second place was awarded to Jisela Del Río from Alma High School. And Katie McGehee from Ozark High School won third place with her recitation of Federico García Lorca's "Canción de jinete."
Local television personality and alumnus of UA Fort Smith, Garrett Lewis served as master of ceremonies. The UA Fort Smith Chorale, directed by Dr. Rager Moore, performed three beautiful pieces in Spanish; and then festival participants shook off their dancing inhibitions and learned how to salsa from dance master Marcus Coker and his partner Barbie Bell. Festival participants also enjoyed typical Hispanic dishes, such as the delicious Salvadoranean pupusas and Mexican enchiladas. Sigma Delta Mu and Spanish-class volunteers sold lip-smacking ice-cold margaritas, which festival-goers sipped despite the cooler-than-usual temperatures. Spanish games were the other great draw. Sigma Delta Mu and UA Fort Smith Spanish student volunteers manned La Rueda de la Fortuna, Operación, and Lotería, along with Twister en español. Game winners walked away with a veritable plethora of prizes, many of which were donated by our own generous area businesses. The festival closed with the annual door-prize give-away.
A special thankyou to the following individuals, oragnizations, and departments, whose participation and donations helped make the 2008 Spanish Festival un gran éxito: Las Americas Restaurant, Kopper Kettle Candies, Chilli's Restaurant, Calico County Restaurant, Marketplace Grill, A to Z in Alma, Walmart on Rogers Ave., Richard Barham, Supermercado Mexicano and Antonia Hurtado, McDonald's, Simmons First Bank, UA Fort Smith Plant Operations, UA Fort Smith Police, UA Fort Smith Multimedia Services, UA Fort Smith Student Activities, UA Fort Smith Chorale, UA Fort Smith World Languages Department, Sondra Lamar, and Colleta Furner.
Email Sigma Delta Mu Advisor Martha Bieber for more information. The 2009 Spanish Festival will be held in the Fall of 2009 on the Campus Green under our beautiful Bell-Tower. The Festival will run from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. More details forthcoming!
Back to the Department of World Languages page.
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