What is the Bazaar?
The International Bazaar was created in 1986 as a way to recognize and celebrate the unique countries and cultures on campus. Now with over 1,000 international students representing 84 countries and over 40 student cultural organizations on campus, the event has grown to be the largest international celebration on campus. It is hosted on the University Center Front Lawn the 3rd Sunday of April each year (although the 2025 date is moved a week later due to the Easter holiday). We invite local restaurants to share their food, and our vibrant campus groups and community organizations host information tables and perform.
The Bazaar is open to Lehigh University students, staff, faculty, alumni, and their families, as well as members of the Lehigh Valley community. Children are welcome!
Sunday, April 27
1:00 - 4:00 pm
University Center Front Lawn (at the Flag Pole)
Rain Location: Grace Hall
How Can I be Involved?
Be a Board Member
The International Bazaar is a fully student led and student planned event with support from the Office of International Students & Scholars. The Board is composed of 4 committees:
- Logistics - responsible for supplies, staging & sound, coordinating volunteers, and day of set-up/clean-up
- Food - responsible for working with local restaurants to order and deliver food, food signage, and food tables
- Entertainment - responsible for recruiting groups to perform or model fashion, recruiting groups to host a table, creating the schedule, overseeing performances and music, and working with MCs
- Marketing - responsible for promoting participation and attendance in a variety of creative ways during the Spring semester, both on and off campus
For more information and to apply, please visit this link.
Deadline: November 3, 2025
Host a Table
Any individual, group, student club, faculty member, staff member, or community organization may host a table. Hosting a table should showcase your country or culture (or a specific part of your culture). Some examples from past table hosts include:
- displaying a poster, tri-fold, or infographic
- serving food
- displaying items or artifacts
- playing a game
- having something interactive for guests to do
- wearing taditional/native clothing
Registration will open in February 2025
Perform
Any individual, group, student club, faculty member, staff member, or community organization may perform. Examples of past performances include:
- dancing
- playing a musical instrument
- singing
- performing with a band
- spoken word/reading a poem
- anything else that represents your cultural identity or country
Registration will open in February 2025
Model in the Fashion Show
We invite any member of our campus community to briefly model their native or traditional clothing. No previous modeling experience required! Clothing must be provided by the model. Clothing can be modeled individually, as a duo, or as a group of students. Previous modeling has included:
- a group of students with West African clothing
- a pair of students with Indonesian clothing
- an individual modeling Spanish clothing (pictured above)
- an individual modeling Thai clothing
Registration will open in February 2025
Volunteer
Our Bazaar cannot take place without the dedicated help from our volunteers. We need 30+ volunteers to make this a successful, well run event. Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt and first access to food. Volunteer opportunities include:
- set-up (moving tables, chairs, flags, supplies, setting up tents)
- serving food during the event
- clean-up
Registration will open in February 2025
Sponsor
The Bazaar depends on monetary donations from our valued campus partners. With an annual planning budget of $15K, the donations from our sponsors allow us to make the event bigger and better each year. Sponsors will be thanked during the event, and be printed on our programs that are seen by 500+ attendees from the campus and local community. The generous contributions go toward the following things:
- purchasing food from 10-12 local restaurants
- supplies associated with the food (plates, napkins, etc.)
- stage and audio set-up for our phenomenal performances
- table and chair rentals
- giveaways and other miscellaneous international themed items
To sponsor the 35th International Bazaar please email inBazaar@lehigh.edu. Thank you!
The 2024 Planning Board
Patricia Goldman- Advisor
Assistant Director of International Student Engagement
Office of International Student & Scholars
Ibithal Gassem- Logistics Committee
Class of 2027
Political Science
USA/Morocco
Zahra Hassan- Food Committee Chair
Class of 2025
Political Science and Sociology with a Minor in French
Bangladeshi-American
3rd Year Bazaar Board Member
Victor Borges- Food Committee
Britney Venegas- Food Committee
Class of 2025
Marketing and Business Analytics
New York, with Peruvian heritage
Fathmat Bakayoko- Marketing Committee Chair
Class of 2025
Masters in Financial Engineering
Ivory Coast
Katrina Bui- Marketing Committee
Class of 2026
Industrial and Systems Engineering
USA/Vietnam
2nd Year Bazaar Board Member
Baigalmaa Shura- Marketing Committee
Class of 2025
Special Education, M.Ed
Mongolia, Khalkh nationality
Dee Tamang- Entertainment Committee Chair
Class of 2026
Public Health
USA/Nepal
2nd Year Bazaar Board Member
Iqra Choudhry- Entertainment Committee
Class of 2026
Community and Global Health Major, Anthropology & Sociology, and Behavioral Neuroscience minors
Pakistan
Jose Luis De Piero- Entertainment Committee
Class of 2025
Instructional Technology, M.S.
Argentina