The Cultural Communications Club (CCC) hosted its 14th annual Cultural Festival on March 16, following the theme of “Harmony.” There were 25 groups of CHS students, each  representing a country by making displays, serving food and providing attendees with information about their country’s culture.

The night started at 5 p.m. as attendees began traveling around the halls of CHS, visiting the countries’ displays. Groups were arranged by geographical location, representing six of the seven continents.

Spain, represented by seniors Lauren Spiezia of Manalapan, Robert Denny of Keyport, Cara Pesciotta of Millstone, Nora Thomson of Middletown, Meghan Judge of Spring Lake, Kyra Lally of Freehold, Abby Coneeny of Wall and Sam LaRochelle of Middletown, occupied the back stairwell. The group went through a lot of planning to accomplish their desired design.

“I’d say we approached it as a group and decided what would look best and what elements would be most important to include,” LaRochelle said.”Then we delegated the work out amongst ourselves and it ended up beautiful.”

At 6 p.m., performances began in the cafeteria. There were 15 performances that displayed cultural “harmony” including traditional dances, ethnic music and poetry. Junior Lauren DeFelice of Wall played “La Vie En Rose,” a French song, on her ukulele, in fitting with the night’s theme of multiculturalism. It was her first time performing in front of a crowd and was slightly disappointed with how it turned out.

“I’ve had this bittersweet feeling since performing. My amp wasn’t set up correctly and I messed up a little section in the bridge as I panicked about it being too quiet,” DeFelice said. “I’m nitpicking, but I felt that it wasn’t my best.”

Before starting the buffet at 7 p.m., the winners of the event were announced. Ukraine, Switzerland and Syria placed first, second and third, respectively.

Junior Connor Martin of Spring Lake Heights was a part of the winning team. He participated last year as well, but he and his teammates, juniors Alexis Colucci of Middletown, Grace McCaffrey of Middletown, Erica Sammarco of Colts Neck and Jillian Lynch of Interlaken, approached this year differently.

“I think this year we tried to have more fun with it, rather than stressing out,” Martin said.

By 8 p.m., the end of the event, The CCC raised over $3,500 to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital, said Spanish teacher and CCC adviser Sabina Campbell.

CCC President and senior Veronica Yaron of Little Silver was overjoyed with the success of the event and was thankful for everyone involved.

“I have never felt more proud than when it hit 5 p.m. and I walked around the school and saw all the countries’ setups,” Yaron said. “Not only that but thanks to all of the hard work of everybody on council the entire event ran without a hitch.”