I-Fest 2026 honors the diverse cultural traditions within the Davis community

The festival invites student groups like Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan to showcase their music and art

By HELENA BIRBROWER — arts@theaggie.org 

The International House (I-House) is opening its doors to all from 2 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 7 for its 13th annual I-Fest. Guests can expect a myriad of performers presenting cultural music and dance, vendors selling food and art and opportunities for all ages to learn about the diversity within the Davis community.

“The first place I came when I came to the country was the International House,” I-Fest Director Johanna Abasto said. “I was looking to meet other people, people like me, who were new to the country and wanted to build community.”

Abasto is originally from Argentina. Before becoming a staff member at the I-House, she was often a guest participant and volunteered at the Argentine cultural booth during past I-Fest celebrations. As the festival’s director, Abasto is now involved in bringing a variety of cultures to I-Fest.

“We have 20 performing groups from 20 different cultures,” Abasto said. “[Among others], we have groups from Brazil, Iran, Western Siberia, Hawaii … South Africa, Ecuador, Mexico and an Argentinian group as well.” 

In addition to the groups performing on the main stage, there will be many cultural booths. Some examples of nations that will be represented in this way are Colombia, Israel and Palestine, according to Abasto. Some local nonprofits and vendors will also be tabling, selling art and snacks.

“We’re maximizing every single space,” Abasto said. “Even in our lounge, which is our more chill area, we’ll have three artists doing some demonstrations.” 

The festival will also spill out onto the street, with several food trucks lining the curb in front of the I-House.

“We say that at I-House we are the bridge between the international community and the local community,” Abasto said. “This is for everyone — kids, adults, international and local. The locals get to learn, and it’s so cute to see them dancing to music from my country.”

One student group that will be performing at I-Fest is Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan. 

“Taiko is a type of drumming with Asian American origins,” Chloe Yen, a third-year psychology major and Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan co-artistic director, said. “The specific type of drumming that we do is called kumi-daiko, which means ensemble drumming.”

The group usually performs with anywhere between five and 15 drummers, but I-Fest will likely see an ensemble on the higher end of that range, according to third-year environmental science and management major Emily Phan. Phan is Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan’s other co-artistic director.

Yen and Phan noted that I-Fest guests should expect a very loud, lively, “explosive” performance from the student percussion ensemble. Their name itself, bakuhatsu, means “explosion” in Japanese.

The large expected turnout may be in large part because I-Fest represents many of the principles that Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan champions. 

“We’re very invested in bringing culture and sharing with the community,” Phan said. “I-Fest is [an opportunity] for people from many different backgrounds to bring a piece of their culture and share it with the community. And it's a space for the community to engage with that.”

The kind of taiko that Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan performs took root in the United States during the Asian American political activism of the 1960s and ‘70s, and functioned as a unifying force in the community, according to Phan and Yen. People from different Asian countries were able to use the taiko art form to unite under a shared Asian American identity. In this way, taiko perfectly complements I-Fest, which celebrates the amalgamation of international and local cultures in Davis. 

“I would love to encourage people to get involved in their community with stuff like this,” Phan said. “So much of I-Fest is built on the people who are invested in and uplifting their communities. Plus, there are so many different art forms and cultures that people may have never heard of. If not I-Fest, just in general, look at different opportunities in [your] communities to engage with different kinds of people.”

For those interested in getting involved, I-Fest is still in need of volunteers. Find more information and sign up at internationalhousedavis.org. 

Written by: Helena Birbrower — arts@theaggie.org