By Kadynce Welsh
The Centennialight
On April 8, Centennial Bulldog students, staff, and families celebrated the annual Culture Night by gathering in the cafeteria to celebrate and represent various German, Italian, and Spanish cultures through food and drinks, poster presentations, and art.
Leading up to Culture Night, students had around four weeks to prepare their displays and activities.
Students' displays showcased the country's flag, a map, interesting facts, the recipe or history behind their chosen activity, and other topics relating to their chosen country.
On the event day, students continued preparation for the gathering by setting up their displays and other parts of their projects, such as music, food, dance, and more.
Mrs. Sendi Estrada, Spanish teacher, expressed that her favorite part of the night was witnessing her students' hard work.
"[My favorite part] was seeing all the students [who had been] overthinking it, show up, and do it," Estrada shared.
Some foods present were tres leches cake from Mexico and Nicaragua, Italian potato pancakes, and German roast from Germany.
Not only were foods shared, but drinks were also handed out. One prominent drink seen throughout the night was horchata, which appeared to be a fan favorite as the horchata was practically gone a half way through the night from guests coming back to get seconds.
One participating student, Giana Soto, a freshman, shared the food was her favorite part about the gathering.
"My favorite part about Culture Night was trying food from different cultures."
In addition to food, students displayed handmade masquerade masks made by Italian students for guests to admire. The masks represented the history of Italian celebrations and theater performances; each mask represented a different trope.
The students' fun from set up to the start of the cultural fair continued throughout the evening as there was music from different cultures blasting, and many students were joyful while handing out the dishes they prepared to the guests and showing off their crafts.
The language department teachers played an immense part in making the event as enjoyable as it was: they welcomed students and guests by talking to them while expressing enjoyment in various cultures by interacting with students to learn about the countries presented.
Culture Night was only successful with their relentless work and support throughout the weeks leading up to the celebration.
The night concluded with the people's bellies full of joyful laughter, happy to have experienced new cultures, and others happy to have been represented.
One student's family member, Jackie Chong, expressed that the food was what he enjoyed most about Culture Night.
"My favorite part of the night was eating the food there."
Not only will many remember the phenomenal food they had that night, but they will also remember the Centennial Bulldogs who made it all possible.
Photos by Jacelynn Shadbolt and Kadynce Welsh
Comments