While they’re performing songs and dances and eating cultural cuisine, students will be showcasing their Asian heritage this weekend.

The Association of Malaysian Students is holding a Malaysian Culture Night Sunday evening. Organizers said it is intended to be a night of fun, food and music.

The celebration begins at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for nonstudents.

“The whole night is to show a culture to other people in the Ames community,” said Victor Tan, president of AMS-ISU.

The students are collaborating with ACTORS (Ames Community Theater of Recreational Services) for the performance, and ACTORS will receive a portion of the proceeds, said Liu Hui, member of the planning committee.

“The money will help us with our building project,” said Keith Wirtz, ACTORS Board of Directors member. “It is a wonderful philanthropic thing that they do.”

Along with working as the stage and lighting crew, ACTORS will be performing numerous short pieces along with the students, Wirtz said.

Many of the pieces chosen will be familiar to the audience. They include “Dites-moi” from “South Pacific,” and “Shall We Dance” and “Getting to Know You” from “The King and I.”

Even though the songs may not be directly from Malaysian culture, they are of the same vein, Wirtz said. They were chosen because of their popularity, and Maylasian culture was featured once again in December’s movie “Anna and the King.”

The students also will be performing traditional ceremonies and dances, including the lion dance.

“The lion dance is a sign of prosperity,” she said. “We have the lion head, and you move with the music [of the] drums and symbols. The drum is the heartbeat of the lion and the rhythm symbolizes the movement of the lion.”

The students also will be performing the traditional dance the Iban, which is performed by natives of Malaysia, Hui said.

Hui said the meal is designed to feature Malaysian cuisine. The menu includes chicken cooked in hot chilies, coconut steamed rice and fried bananas.