Celebration of Cultures returned to Pascack Valley High School last Friday, bringing together over 40 cultures for students to experience.
Taking place in the new gym, the festival allows students to learn about other cultures. Students hosted tables with food, drinks, and facts about their chosen country or cultural region.
Music Teacher Dr. Argine Safari helped organize the event, but emphasized that most of the organization was student-led.
“The best part to me is that it’s student-led,” Safari said. “Kids come up and set up their tables, they have an idea, they share their culture — and look how much support there was.”
PV seniors Maya Teckwani and Anna Stern were members of the student committee, and shared a similar sentiment.
“It’s like a big party and it’s our favorite day of the school year because it’s the one time that you really see the entire community,” Teckwani said. “Not just the student body, but also the whole faculty together in one place. I think it’s a really special event.”
“The Celebration of Cultures is one of my personal favorite [events] from the whole year because it happens during the school day and it involves everyone and everything with all different types of cultures,” Stern said.
Safari says the event is a great way to take a closer look at the diverse cultures that make up Pascack Valley.
“Our community is like a vibrant mosaic, made up of many colors, patterns, and stories,” Safari said. “The Celebration of Cultures allowed us to zoom in and appreciate each unique piece more deeply.”
Typically, the celebration would host additional events throughout the day in the auditorium, but due to construction, they were unable to do so this year. Instead, Spanish Teacher Courtney Rems moved her wax sculptures to the dance room, and Spanish Teacher Jimena Ladino held dance lessons in the new gym.
“I just kind of gave [my students] some directions and then they did everything else,” Rems said, talking about the wax sculptures. “They literally thought of everything — all I did was show up.”
Safari deemed this year’s celebration another success and looks forward to expanding next year and bringing back additional events with the newly-renovated auditorium.
