Members of the Xi Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. hosted their second annual African Violet Talent Showcase at 6 p.m. on Friday in the CUB Jr. Ballroom.

Senior Renaye Tolbert, member of the planning committee, said the showcase was started to replace “Shades of Black,” a talent event that stopped several years ago. Members wanted people at WSU to still be able to express their talents after the old event faded away, she said.

“There’s so many talented people on this campus and in this community, so we want to create a space for them to showcase that,” Tolbert said. “This is only our second year doing it, so each year I think we’re trying to evolve a little bit.”

Fifth year Nailah Kent, co-founder of Krimson Kouture, said her favorite part of African Violet is seeing the community come together to celebrate culture.

Kent said Krimson Kouture performed last year at the event but did not perform this year because of the three-day weekend.

Performers at the event ranged from poets to singers, gymnasts to dancers, Tolbert said. In the past, they’ve featured hip hop majorette groups, but this year the dance styles included hip hop, jazz and lyrical. There was also a breakdancing soloist who used popping and locking movements.

“It’s kind of like a typical, what you would assume would be, a good mixture of different arts,” Tolbert said. “We like to have a variety, just to appeal to everybody’s tastes.”

Tolbert said there are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to managing performers and vendors for the event, so the planning committee used multiple group chats to stay organized throughout the process.

Delta Sigma Theta usually had an open call for different performers for the event and used flyers and word of mouth to find interested participants. Tolbert said chapter members reach out to performers from other showcases who they think do a good job.

“I really love with each different showcase you experience, sometimes you see repetitive artists,” Tolbert said. “But the thing that is always so different is the crowd interaction and how the crowd reacts … it’s always so energizing to feel the appreciation and the love in the room.”