The Association of Malaysian Students hopes to give the ISU community a taste of Malaysian culture this weekend.

Pearle Heong, president of the association, helped organize Malaysian Cultural Night, which is Saturday in the Memorial Union. Heong said the cultural night will incorporate many different elements of Malaysian culture through interactive displays and performances.

“The main part of the night will be the cultural sketch,” said Heong, senior in management information systems. “[The sketch] will feature traditional performances from Malaysia’s different ethnic groups.”

Yuen-Hsiang Su, event co-chair, said the night is designed to inform the community about Malaysia’s diverse culture and people.

“Malaysia is a very multicultural country,” said Su, junior in computer science. “This is a way for us to share our culture with those who may not know much about Malaysia.”

Su said the evening will feature a performance of the Lion Dance, an ancient Chinese tradition that has been performed by the association at other celebrations.

The cultural night will also feature traditional Malaysian cuisine, offering a meal which will include spicy coconut beef, stir-fried vegetables and fried bananas, Heong said.

“This meal will include authentic foods not available in Ames,” she said.

An important part of the cultural night is community outreach, Heong said, and proceeds from the event will be donated to the Lincoln Way chapter of the American Red Cross.

“We decided to donate our proceeds to the Red Cross partially because of the events of Sept. 11,” she said. “The Ames chapter in particular does so much for the community and we wanted to help them any way we can.”

Ron Matthews, executive director of the Lincoln Way Chapter of the American Red Cross, said a number of Red Cross employees and volunteers will be attending the event, and a raffle drawing for several prizes will be held.

“We’ve been involved with ISU’s international groups for some time, and we’re pleased to be part of this event,” Matthews said.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12.