There will be a mixer hosted by Program Council to honor participants and guests who will be part of the Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz on Saturday, Feb. 21.

The mixer will be in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is free to all SMU students.

Program Council wants to extend a warm welcome to participants in the competition as well as guest performers who are coming from Washington D. C., New York and Florida.

The SMU community is encouraged to come and get a taste of South Asian culture. There will be authentic Indian food and music playing.

Since the mixer has a Las Vegas theme, there will be poker, blackjack and roulette tables with dealers at each one. There will also be an open microphone for karaoke.

The entertainment for the night will be a student magician and comedian Raul Varghese, an Indian Dallas local.

Varghese’s jokes concentrate on observations about being Indian. Named “Best Stand-up Comic in Dallas” by the Dallas Observer, Varghese has performed at various festivals around the world.

Varghese has also appeared on numerous television programs, including NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”

Free tickets for the show on Saturday will also be given away.

Program Council is hosting the fourth annual Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz Competition the following night.

The competition was originally going to be held at the University of Texas, but Program Council insisted on having it at SMU because they wanted students to be exposed to more cultural events since they believe it is one thing that SMU lacks.

Program Council also hopes it will encourage more community involvement.

There will be 12 teams competing in one of two categories (Raas Garba or Bhangra), which consists of students from various colleges and universities around the United States. Awards will be given in both categories at the end of the competition.

Program Council hopes that both events will unify the SMU community and bring more cultural awareness to the campus.

“I think it is great because we need to have more cultural events on campus to show that there is some diversity here at SMU,” junior Jamil Beard said when asked about how he feels about the dance competition and mixer.

“I hope that this is only one of many cultural events that will be hosted here,” Beard said.