Members of ISU and Ames community will learn this weekend about how different cultures celebrate Thanksgiving.

The YWCA of Ames-ISU and international students will be holding “Thanksgiving Celebrations around the World” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 100 University Village.

Judy Dolphin, director of the YWCA of Ames-ISU, said there will be several activities for families. “It is one of the YWCA’s Weekend Voyager events that are particularly organized by international students for children in the community,” she said.

Dolphin said the event was designed to teach young people about other cultures.

“Racist attitudes can be held against any people,” she said. “If they get to know people of other groups through fun and games, it can break down those attitudes.”

A variety of activities are planned which will focus on different ways cultures express thanks. “We tend to think Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but around the world people celebrate harvest and thankfulness for the bounty of the earth,” Dolphin said.

Keji Ojelade, senior in elementary education from Nigeria, helped organize the event.

“We are going to have interactive activities for people of all ages,” she said. “The young audience can color or draw different things that they are thankful for such as pets or siblings, [and] the audience will be taught how to make the moon cake. The moon cake is a special snack for celebrating a full moon in Korea and other Asian countries.”

Ojelade said children will be able to learn dance steps and phrases from the several different countries. “Students from Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Japan and probably the Caribbean will be participating,” she said.

Organizers said they hope the event will help spread knowledge about cultures around the world.

“It’s important for the ISU community to know about different ways of celebrating Thanksgiving because knowing is learning,” Ojelade said. “It’s one of the few ways they can be exposed to different cultures and that Thanksgiving is not necessarily about eating turkey.”