Commemorating Culture

Stone Bridge’s 2023 Multicultural Festival

To celebrate the colorful heritage of our student body, Stone Bridge will host its first-ever Multicultural Festival on Mar. 16, 2023, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. on school grounds. 

Honoring cultural diversity through various forms of art and cooking, the festival strives to highlight the beauty of the student body’s unique values and traditions. The event will be open to anyone interested in joining or observing the festivities.

“The multicultural student festival is a celebration of different traditions and cultures coming together to show forms of expression through music, dance, art, and food,” the event’s website states. “The festivities offer many cultural components through a combination of student-run booths and classrooms.”

World Language teachers Lin Zhao, Rashmi Wright, Adriana Rice, and Sharyn Meneau have dedicated their resources to making the festival a reality. One of the biggest goals of the foreign language department is to highlight the richness of culture around the world, making this the perfect opportunity to express that to students through the customs they showcase.

“My personal contribution to the fair has largely been my time: I’ve stayed after school for meetings and promoted the event with my students,” Spanish teacher and Committee-Lead Rashmi Wright said. “I am also the lead on one of the committees. At the event, I will most likely represent my culture through dress.”

However, student participation is the true driving force of the Multicultural Fair. The committee needs members of the student body to showcase their cultural pride in order to make the event a genuine tribute to the different heritages that make up Stone Bridge. 

“As we prepare for this fantastic event, we seek participants willing to share their cultural heritage,” World History teacher and Multicultural Festival Co-sponsor Carla Davis said. “We need YOU as fashion models, presenters, singers, poets, dancers, artists, filmmakers, and country representatives.”

The festivities offer many cultural components through a combination of student-run booths and classrooms.

— Multicultural Festival Website

As an additional act of cultural appreciation, the Multicultural Festival includes a film contest for students to show their pride in a digital format. The top three submissions will be rewarded with an Amazon gift card, with first-place receiving $100. 

“Students are invited to produce a 2-5 minute video,” the contest information page states. “Based on a Stone Bridge staff panel review, the top three films will be featured at the Multicultural Fair and the top three filmmakers will win awards.”

Although the event is months away, students are encouraged to sign-up now if they want to participate. Both the fashion show and general participation pages are now open for submissions. 

“I want students to know that their culture is important, and they should never be ashamed of it,” Ms. Wright said. “They should celebrate their cultural heritage every opportunity they have.”