The locker pods of Communications High School (CHS) transformed into the streets of India, rainforests of Costa Rica and cafes of France for a night of food, culture and music at the annual Cultural Communications Club (CCC) Festival on Friday, April 26.
Each year, the event allows students to research a country and share its culture with the CHS community. Proceeds from ticket sales are donated to both the winning group’s charity of choice and Lunch Break, a local
Monmouth County community welfare organization. Participants and guests were also encouraged to bring in boxes of cereal for the Emanuel Cancer Foundation, which helps families in need. Friends and family came to the beloved event in droves, bringing the total donation to over $3000. Guests roamed the halls, visiting 21 country booths from Canada to South Korea, and were able to sample food and view decorations.
CCC President and senior Garrett Stemetzki of Wall found the most rewarding part of the experience was seeing the guests enjoy each country’s culture.
“I love seeing all the attendees roam the halls to look at the decorations and hearing them talk about all the food they’ve tried,” Stemetzki said. “It really makes the whole process all the more gratifying.”
In the weeks leading up to the event, groups gathered to prepare information, decorations and food from their chosen countries, utilizing lunch work periods hosted by the CCC council. On the night of the festival, each group decorated their designated area with traditional art and posters to educate the attendees about their country’s culture. CCC Advisor and Spanish teacher Karen Britto- Davino was grateful for all of the effort put into the event.
“Each group put so much thought, effort and care into curating an excellent representation of the country they chose. It was a perfect example of what makes CHS a special and fun place,” Britto-Davino said. “I’m thrilled that students were either able to share about their own culture or learn about another.”
After surveying customs from all around the world, attendees voted on which group they felt did the best job. India received the most votes, taking home first place, with South Korea in second and Mexico and France tying for third. India’s booth emulated a traditional street found in the country, including carts filled with an assortment of food. The group’s charity of choice was HOPE Sheds Light, a local Asbury Park based organization that focuses on spreading awareness about the impacts of addiction.
Junior Alisa Kharod of Colts Neck, a member of the group representing India, felt honored that her group won considering the amount of time that went into planning their setup.
“When India was called the winner, I was so happy,” Kharod said. “My team and I put so much work into making this an amazing booth and I’m so happy that everyone enjoyed it.”
This year, the event broke a CCC participation record with more than 150 students representing the largest number of countries yet. Students also had the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures through the musical performances which closed out the evening. Attendees were awed by a variety of CHS musicians, including a duet between junior Sol Zavala of Wall and her father, Mauricio Zavala, as well as CHS music staple, Exit 109’s cover of “Brazil” by Declan McKenna. Exit 109 member and senior James Matthews is grateful for the opportunity that CCC has given him and the other performers to share their music.
“It’s always fun to perform for the CCC,” Matthews said. “It’s a great event to kick off the school year winding down.”
Through food and conversation, the festival captured exactly what the CCC is about: sharing culture and helping those in need.
“When we come together we are able to do great things, like raise a significant amount of money for a local charity,” Britto-Davino said.
