The 2013 World Language Festival / Dinner, which took place on Thursday April 25th, proved once again to be another successful event run by South’s four language honor societies—Spanish, run by advisor Señora Barney, French, run by advisors Madame Finkelstein and Madame Fidalgo, Latin, run by advisor Magister Isherwood, and Italian, run by advisor Signorina Santore.
Considering that this annual event always tends to be a popular attraction for the South student community at the end of April, the large turnout of hungry people that came to enjoy the night’s festivities was certainly not a surprise to anybody. Along with South students, many local families stopped by to enjoy appetizers, dinner, and dessert made by our school’s world language students. Many teachers also made appearances at the Festival with their family members and spouses too, including Mrs. Baratta and Mrs. Deignan from the mathematics department.
The Festival was characterized this year by a special new addition in the Commons: a screen which showcased projected videos and streamed music of all languages played by means of a playlist on Mr. Homiak’s laptop. This new feature helped create a laid-back and relaxed atmosphere amongst the guests.
However, what was clearly the biggest focus on the minds of both the workers and Festival-attendees was the overabundance of delicious food each society had to offer. At the front end of what resembled a buffet line, the Latin Honor Society provided delicious salads and a sweet, chocolate treat filled with peanut butter and a cherry. After them, the Spanish Honor Society filled the plates of the hungry Festival-goers with more appetizers and some entrees. These are including but not limited to tacos, taquitos, Spanish rice, and nachos. Making a ninety-degree turn to the beginning end of the Italian Honor Society’s table, the guests were presented with an array of pastas with different types of sauces, as well as chicken parmigiana and stuffed shells. Following the Italian table was a crowded station where attendees could pour themselves cups of water, lemonade, or iced tea. Finally, on the Commons wall opposite of the kitchen was where the French Honor Society served scrumptious desserts, including but not limited to cream puffs, crepes with Nutella and fruit, éclairs, and chocolate mousse.
In the process of people going back up for seconds, thirds, or even fourths, a sense of community was truly brought out by this event. It attracted people of all ages, bringing together students with their friends and families, and created a warm friendly atmosphere for intermingling. Such an atmosphere is a perfect reflection of the spirit and purpose behind the World Language Festival: to celebrate and gather people of all different cultures and to learn about each other while bonding over an abundance of delicious (and filling!) foods.
Every world language honor society member clearly worked very hard to make the World Language Festival as good as it possibly could be and for that they deserve to be recognized. Every year the bar is set a little higher than the last and hopefully next year’s festival will wind up being just as successful as this year’s. Check out some pictures of the delicious desserts brought out by the French Honor Society during set-up above!