Students didn’t need to travel far to try food found on other continents.

Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ohio Union, students sampled international food and viewed performances at the annual Taste of OSU.

The event featured 33 international student organizations and more than 4,000 attendees, said Maureen Miller, director of communications at the Office of International Affairs.

“The event was more than I envisioned. The Ohio Union was a perfect venue,” Miller said.

The event was held in the Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom, but students found places outside the ballroom to eat and gather.

Attendees were able to sample food from countries using $1 tickets. Miller said the amount of tickets sold has not yet been determined.

The money earned from ticket sales will go back to Taste of OSU, but this amount has not yet been determined, Miller said.

The Turkish Students Association served gyros, baklava and tabouli, food native to Turkey and other Mediterranean cultures, said social chair Sultan Yildirim, a graduate student in labor and human resources.

“We ran out of baklava so fast,” Yildirim said.

Lori Hage, the Lebanese Student Organization secretary, said the same thing happened at their booth.

“The food went by really fast,” said Hage, a second-year in biology. “I barely tasted any of the food.”

Members of other organizations said they enjoyed the upbeat atmosphere. The African Youth League sang a song called “Awa Baby” as they served food.

“We love it. This is a great cultural experience. We had so many people come try our food,” said Adwoa Asante, a third-year in philosophy and member of the African Youth League.

This year’s event attracted people from throughout the Columbus community.

“I like how there is a lot of people from different places. I am from Chile, so I think it‘s awesome how there are a lot of cultures here,” said Etienne Casassa, a student at Columbus State Community College.

Miller said 16 organizations performed every five to 10 minutes throughout the evening.

“The students put a lot of effort in their performance and they were very characteristic in representing their home country,” Miller said.

The Pakistani American Students Association performed a mixture of dances from their culture.

“We started with a very classic song and ended with a modern hip-hop song,” said vice president Hasan Mujahid, a fourth-year in electrical engineering..

For new student organizations, such as the Kuwaiti Students Association, Taste of OSU was a novel experience.

“Our organization started last year and this is our first time participating,” said Farah Bastaki, a fourth-year in accounting.

Oi! Brasil also had a booth.

“This is our first time participating in a long time. We really enjoyed it,” said secretary Nora Klautsch, a second-year in international studies.

The Indian American Association placed first for overall performance, while the Sri Lankan Association placed first for food, said student chairman Tejaswini Gosavi, a fourth-year in mathematics and business.

“People just kept coming in. It was just an amazing thing to watch,” Miller said.