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You have seen him lurking around the Helen C. White Library during the grueling week of finals. You have possibly shaken hands and exchanged hugs with him once upon a time during Welcome Week. And you have most certainly seen him performing endless sets of push-ups before a crowd of screaming Badger fans at the Wisconsin football games. But to witness our very own, red-and-white clad Bucky Badger frolicking around the Olbrich Botanical Gardens at the annual Thai Fest yesterday? That was most unexpected indeed.

Thai Fest, a celebration of Thai culture, was brought back to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Sunday, Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Generously funded by the University of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Alumni Association, the Royal Thai Consulate General in Chicago, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the event was free and open to the enthusiastic people of Madison who bravely trudged through the mud and rain to attend the world-class event.

“I thought the Thai Fest would be something fun I could bring my daughter to, something different and interesting,” said Wisconsin alum Lina Martin. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce my daughter to different cultures and different aspects of life.”

The rain and cold, however, decisively put a damper on the carefully planned events. “Due to the bad weather conditions, we had to move the entertainment indoors,” said Connie Beam, director of development and marketing at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. “Our plan had been to, of course, have the entertainment outdoors in the Thai Pavilion and Garden where it would have been just beautiful,”

Indeed, it almost wrenches the soul to see what the festival could have been upon seeing the majestic Thai Pavilion and Garden. Erected among exotic ornamental plants, elephant stone sculptures and minimalist reflecting pools, this charming tropical alcove is tucked mysteriously amid 16 acres of various display gardens. When strolling through the gardens equipped with delightful twists and turns and darling nooks and crannies, children and adults alike may well find themselves exploring the grounds like Mary Lennox in “The Secret Garden.”

“The Thai Pavilion is a gift from the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the government of Thailand. By celebrating Thai culture at the Thai Pavilion, we are showing the diversity, the depth and the breadth of alumni that we have around the world and how important that is to the university,” said Liz Stern, director of international relations of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. “It is the Wisconsin Idea to push itself beyond the physical boundaries of campus, and the fact that we have one of only four royal Thai pavilions outside of Thailand in the world here in Madison shows just how connected the university is to so many various parts of the world.”

In lieu of the Thai Pavilion, the entertainment was held in William T. Evjue Commons of the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, with various cultural performances by the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute of Chicago and UW Thai Student Association. Traditional Thai dances were presented by performers in costumes that were reminiscent of bejeweled red and green Christmas ornaments, and adorably made-up Thai children pranced and cavorted around the room while audiences audibly gasped in delight.

“It was beautiful and well-prepared,” said Rekchai Suwanwihok, visiting teacher from Thailand. “The the musical instruments and props used in the performances were very beautiful, and the performances were well-prepared. I loved it.”

According to Beam, the main goal of Thai Fest was to celebrate, as a community, the beauty of the Thai culture and the partnership between the various organizations that made the event possible. Attempts to educate the public were made by a detailed demonstration of the traditional Thai marriage ceremony, and members of the audience were invited up to participate in the mock marriage ritual.

“We’ve come here to support our culture, promote it and keep it alive for future generations to know and others who are not fully educated about it,” said Elizabeth Baccam, a performer from the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute of Chicago.

For those culturally challenged whose idea of Thai food is strictly limited to the strangely westernized pad thai from Noodles & Company, reasonably priced, authentic Thai cuisine was prepared by local restaurants Sa-Bai Thong and Ban Thai. According to Arom Wichitchu, manager of Sa-Bai Thong, the restaurants tried to keep the price down so more people could afford to experiment with and experience authentic Thai cuisine. For $9 one could buy a combination of a delicious appetizer, such as the shrimp purse or toong thong (ground chicken, potato, carrot and onion wrapped with rice paper skin slightly deep fried to golden brown, served with house sauce) with chicken curry, squash curry or pad thai.

“I loved the friendliness of the people,” said Terry Brown, my lively lunch companion at the Thai Fest. “They were really willing to show us what the various foods were when I was over there, and they helpfully pointed out the ones that were hot, the ones that were not and so forth.”

Along with the local eateries, food vendor Smoothies and Juice — the lime-green food cart so often spotted outside of Memorial Library — was parked in a corner, selling various combinations of Thai fruit drinks.

“This is a free festival, and except for your food and drink, it really doesn’t cost anything to come and enjoy the beauty of the dancers and learn a little bit about the culture that is not our own,” said Beam.

It was certainly a pleasure to observe people of so many different ages and backgrounds gathered at the Thai Fest, promoting international diversity and connection. Although there wasn’t much of a student population at the festival, it was a nice change to see Bucky Badger doing more than just physically draining himself before a drunken student crowd.

If not for the Thai Fest, the Olbrich Botanical Gardens itself are worth a visit. For more information, visit www.olbrich.org.