The International Fair Celebrates Diversity on Campus
Participants learn about global communities through a variety of activities.
Imagine a day dedicated to showcasing the diverse cultures that are represented every day all across our campus. This is the goal of the International Fair held on campus on February 25, coordinated by the world languages teachers.
The International Fair allows students to explore other cultures through student performances, flag parades, fashion shows, and different booths representing countries. The fair also allows students to bring their family and friends to celebrate and participate in the event.
“The food is amazing, the variety is awesome, all of the families coming out to the event are really special, but I mostly love the student performances,” reading teacher Sheri Porubski said.
Students come together and sign up to do special performances to represent other cultures and to amaze guests who attend the multicultural event, showcasing their hard work and dedication.
“I’m looking forward to all of the performances this year because they are just all so wonderful because of the hard work the students are putting into these performances, their passion and time, it all inspires me,” Spanish teacher Elena Wigelsworth said. “I am excited to see the fruits of their labor.”
Students will often stay after school to prepare for their performances. Some students will represent places like Spain by doing a certain dance like flamenco, while others will sing cultural songs like AP Junior Jan Henin, leading to a large showcase of diversity.
“My favorite stuff about the international fair is getting to see different cultures and how the students represent where they’re from, and the foods and games, the dances, and stuff like that are very nice to see,” senior Mirah Flores said.
Booths consist of educational information about each country and have games, food, and amazing interactive activities that draw in the attendees.
“The booth that I did last year was the Philippines, and it consisted of various interactive activities such as sipa, lato lato, and saying simple Tagalog phrases before getting food,” senior Miagrace Jimenez said. “I’m excited to run the booth because I get to share my culture with other students. It’s bittersweet because it is my senior year.”
One of the most popular performances of the international fair is Tinikling, which is represented by Paxon’s tinikling group known as the “Pinoy Eagles.”
“For the past 2 years, I did tinikling for the international fair,” Flores said. “I bonded with a lot of people, got to be one with my culture by doing Filipino dances and making memories and just having fun.”
Last year, tons of people gathered around to see the Pinoy Eagles’ performance. The tinikling performance shows students dancing and jumping around huge bamboo sticks as they collide, trying not to have their feet caught in the collision of the sticks.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the tinikling performance and seeing how they are doing after taking this year off from the group, and look at the foods and just see everything one more time for my senior year,” Flores stated.
The International Fair educates the school community on different places and cultures from all around the world through various activities that the students have planned, making it an especially personal learning experience. Participants have an opportunity to learn more about the people they see every day.
“It’s a great time to go with your friends and family to see what Paxon holds outside of academics and stuff, and more than that, we are representing our culture, our identity, our love for each other, and supporting each other,” Flores stated.