The smells of spices, the jingle of bells and the buzz of voices filled the Volstorff Ballroom on Jan. 25 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. for the ninth annual Nepal Nite.

Nepalese Student Association (NeSA) hosted the night. There was a dinner served by volunteers and following the dinner there were group dances, band performances and presentations.

“It’s great to see the students share their culture with us,” said Kirsten Linke, an international student adviser.

Linke enjoyed the event because of the different Nepalese food offered and the various performances.

Linke said that the students and community members should come to these events and “travel the world” without having to leave.

Tammy Loban, a secretary in the Engineering Department, attended Nepal Nite for the second time.

“I enjoy coming and experiencing the food,” Loban said. “[This is] my opportunity to have some experience with other cultures. This is a neat opportunity.”

She came to the event because there are students from Nepal who she encounters while working for the Engineering Department.

“It is a chance to be aware of how other people live,” Loban said.

Before NeSA can have the event, the members had to plan in order to prepare themselves for an event with a high number of attendants. Pukar Duwadi, a senior majoring in environmental science, is the president of NeSA. Duwadi said that the planning of the event began in August when the organization first reserved the Volstorff Ballroom.

“We sent out the invitations to guests and distinguished people back in November,” Duwadi said.

In addition to sending out invitations, the group had to pick out performances and make committees.

“We divided into several groups so they could work independently,” Duwadi said.

The committees were food, entertainment, decorations and advertising. The entertainment committee had to plan all of the performances for the evening.

Duwadi said that NeSA created an idea of the types of events and performances it wanted to see for the evening and then different groups auditioned to perform during Nepal Nite.

“When it is … a few days beforehand we have to make sure all of the food, groceries we ordered are there by [Friday] so they we can make food on [Saturday],” Duwadi said. “We want to make sure all of the performances are ready by [Friday].”

NeSA and volunteers started preparing food on the day before the event because there needed to be a large amount of food in order to feed all of the people attending. They also started decorating on Saturday.

Duwadi said they were hoping that 450 people would come to Nepal Nite. He said cultural events are important in order to get to know the different cultures on campus.

According to Duwadi, there are roughly 80 Nepal students in NeSA and including families there are around 120 people involved.

“We are growing, we also want to show what we came from so our friends from here can know what we do,” Duwadi said. “It’s kind of letting them know where we come from and what kind of culture we do so … my friends know what I am and how I blend in my culture into their culture.”