To celebrate the diverse cultures that make up both the world and Paly’s student body, Paly’s Associated Student Body (ASB) hosted World Fest during lunch and tutorial on Friday, May 3rd.
World Fest had been a goal for ASB ever since the beginning of the school year, according to senior Riya Kumar, the ASB Treasurer.
“We had an international festival a couple of years ago,” Kumar said. “ASB wanted to bring it back because we value celebrating our diversity and the world.”
Festivities during lunch included a student-led Polynesian dance performance in front of the Student Center, a diverse exhibition of traditional ball games ranging from Israeli gaga ball to Korean jegichagi, a club showcase on the Quad that allowed students to meet members of Paly’s various clubs and a raffle offering environmental prizes. To top it all off, free cream puffs and Belgian waffles were provided to the first 500 students to show up during the lunchtime performance.
“When deciding what cultures would make up World Fest, we decided on incorporating international cultures, environmental cultures and Paly culture.”
Sophomore Vice President Avantika Singh
The celebration culminated in a replica of India’s Holi festival on the Quad during tutorial, where students threw colored powder at each other in order to celebrate the festival of colors.
“(Holi) was something that many people really wanted to do since they do it at Duveneck and Greene Middle School,” Singh said.
Holi is just one of many cultural celebrations.
“Of course, we couldn’t showcase every culture out there,” said Senior Site Council Representative Ashutosh Bhown. “But we thought this was a good idea to show how diverse Paly is and give the people here a chance to see how different entertainment is in different parts of the world.”
Ultimately, ASB’s goal with the event was for students to have fun while celebrating the world, according to Kumar.
“It’s not every day that we take the time to thank our environment and all of the cultures that make life so special, so I hope people can use this day to do that.”
Riya Kumar
After all was said and done, ASB was pleased with how things turned out at World Fest, according to Kumar.
“We are planning to have (World Fest) next year,” Kumar said. “Hopefully, this event will become a tradition that lasts for many years.”
Besides World Fest, other upcoming ASB events include Quadchella, a series of student-led musical performances throughout the week during lunch, and Field Day, an extended lunch period on Friday that will include games on the Quad and free burritos for the entire student body.
