School diversity in food and dance

Nov. 5 marked Aragon’s longstanding tradition of the International Food Fair. Over ten countries were represented in the booths with musical and cultural performances to supplement the cultural experience.

From China to Greece, the Food Fair offered a host of options. Parent Carrie Chao of the China booth says, “In total we prepared for four to five hours. Chinese food goes back a long way. It’s very tasty. [Chinese food is] something that they’re willing to try and try again. This is a fun occasion for people to come and help out their school.”

Parent Alicia Petrakis of the Greece booth says, “We spent about ten to twelve hours preparing the food. I want people to taste the really good ingredients. Everything that we do is from scratch and everything that we brought here today was made from scratch. I want people to take away something that tastes really pure and tasty.”

In keeping with her tradition of volunteering at the Food Fair, Petrakis says, “I just think that this is a good thing to do for the school. Anything that brings cultural people together and sharing what they love to do—which is usually food—brings people together and makes it fun.”

Chao agrees, “Helping the school raise money and making this such a fun event for the family [inspires me to do this every year]. More importantly, it’s for [the parents] and the kids to experience the culture and the heritage.”

Through the use of bamboo sticks in the traditional tinikling dance, the Filipino performance was steeped the cultural roots. Senior Patricia De Guzman says, “We practiced for about two to three weeks for about three times a week. I think our performance went smoothly, but we were still very nervous. I’ve been doing this for four years, but just because I’ve been doing this for four years doesn’t mean that I’m used to it. It was still very nerve-racking.”

She adds, “I just want people to know more about the Filipino culture because when people think of Filipinos, they typically think of the food and the people. I want them also to know about the dance.”

In addition to the Filipino dance, students and parents also received the opportunity to watch the Aragon Jazz Ensemble, Polynesian Dancers, the Murphy School of Irish Dance, and Hawaiian Hula Dancers. With regards to the Hawaiian performance, Sophomore Katianne LaFoou says, “We spent about two hours a week preparing the dance. [The performance] was nerve-wracking but it was easy, too.”

Sophomore Marley Tuakoi adds, “We want people to learn more about the Hawaiian culture. Hula is life.”

As for the performances in general, Freshman Derek Kinsella remarks, “I liked all the performances because they were all so diverse. The dances provided a different perspective of the cultures.”

With the closure of another Food Fair, parent and volunteer Sujatha Marsden says, “This is one of my favorite events. We’ve been doing this since Borel—since our kids were in sixth grade together. We’ve been doing this for many years now. This is just an event that we just love.”