The Celebration of Cultures made its return to Pascack Valley High School on Friday, Nov. 1st. The second annual festival highlights food, culture, and languages surrounding Pascack Valley.
According to event organizer and Acting District Supervisor of World Languages, Multilingual Learners, Music, & Family and Consumer Sciences Argine Safari, this year’s festival was a greater success than last year’s.
“There were so many students involved… ” Safari said. “There were definitely more than 200 people just running the events.”
Students and staff across Pascack Valley contributed to the celebration.
“The beauty of [the event] is that the whole school participates,” Safari said. “I was really happy to see a lot more of the other departments participating this year.”
The day began with PV’s Chamber Jazz Ensemble, a group of the program’s strongest musicians, performing in the main lobby. The performance included music influenced by places all around the world, such as Brazil, Indonesia, and the Caribbean Islands.
“The focus of our music was jazz originals by American composers that drew on other cultural influences,” PV Band Director Craig Yaremko said.
Despite a non-ideal performance space in the lobby, the ensemble embraced the unique setting.
“It’s definitely a challenging acoustical environment, with tiled floors and high ceilings,” Yaremko said. “But it’s nice to have a band together in a room, and they stepped up to the commitment and did a great job [at Celebration of Cultures].”
The band will also be doing a similar performance in the lobby before winter break, according to Yaremko.
Throughout the day of the Celebration of Cultures, students also had the opportunity to attend cultural events with their classes, which were held in the auditorium. One of the activities was the Spanish Wax Sculptures, curated by the Spanish Honors Society and PV Spanish Teacher Courtney Rems. It was a student-designed exhibit of posters of historic Spanish figures from around the world with biographical information attached.
For Rems and her advanced Spanish classes, it was their first time creating Wax Sculptures. However, the Italian classes had done a similar activity last year.
“We realized we could participate this year during our class time,” Rems said. “Then we came up with the idea not even realizing that someone had done it, but now it’s something we can hopefully do in the future.”
In the future, Rems hopes that other departments will join in, expanding the activity beyond language classes.
“We were thinking, maybe each culture can do this,” Rems said. “Maybe the PV History Club or maybe the Science NHS wants to get together. I think sometimes the important and impactful figures are a huge part of the culture.”
One of the main events of the day, however, came at lunch, when students and staff hosted tables representing different cultures in the New Gym.
Each table featured facts and history about a specific country and had either food or an activity for students to participate in.
Spanish Teacher Jimena Ladino led dance lessons at lunch.
“I enjoyed the performances a lot,” Ladino said. “I think that when students share their cultures while they perform, it adds to the validation that the school can give to diverse cultures.”
Students also expressed positive feedback following the event.
“The Celebration of Cultures is one of the most valuable events PV has created, as everyone who participates leaves with a greater understanding of world cultures than when they entered,” a PV freshman said.
The event not only brought enjoyment through performances and socialization, it also taught an important lesson on cultural differences.
“Student pride in their different cultural backgrounds was evident in their elaborate costumes, food preparations, displays, and musical performances,” Family Consumer Sciences teacher Annette Molino said. “Our school community benefited by bonding through our similarities and differences.”
This event embodies Pascack Valley’s commitment to inclusivity and understanding.
“This was a vibrant reminder of the diversity, unity, and shared humanity within our school community,” Safari said. “By bringing together voices, traditions, and stories from around the world, we created a space where everyone could celebrate their heritage and learn from one another. It is not just about exploring cultures; it is about strengthening the bonds that make us a true community.”
