Bold flavors, lively dance performances, and vibrant cultural booths. These were all features at the first ever MN cultural expo.
As part of an IB CAS project, senior Pavithra Raghavan and several other students have been working hard to put together a cultural showcase, held on Mar. 8.
The event featured diverse cuisine, music, cultural booths, live dance performances, and more. Senior Binodini Ganeshkumar was in charge of fundraising, Juniors Pravantika Kriphakarren and Sahashra Pallamala oversaw the dance performances, and Junior Anagha Vemmelesseril ran the cultural booths.
The event began with the cultural booths, which ran for the first hour of the event, and there was a mix of Mexican, Korean, and Tajik cultures. Each booth offered something unique.
The Mexican booth featured facts about the country, traditional candy, and dances. The Korean booth had a traditional sugar candy challenge and explanations of history and tradition. The last booth had a person dressed in traditional clothing, and their poster had sayings written in Tajik.
An hour into the event, the performances began. They showcased Korean, Mexican, Palestinian, and Indian cultures and history, and there was a mix of students and adults performing.
“I think dance is such a lovely way to display your culture and show off your talent. I see dance as a medium to create a soul-to-soul connection with you, your audience, and the people you dance with,” Kriphakarren said.
Kriphakarren aided in choreographing an Indian wedding performance for the event, and it features beautiful, fast-beat songs from South India. She was also a part of the Millard North Middle School Diyas performance.
Additional performances included the Omaha sparklers, the Dynamic Devis Creighton’s K-Jewels, a celebration of Mexican culture, our Live and Performing Arts club, and Japanese pop music.
The Dynamic Devis showcased diverse songs from diverse languages, such as Hindi, Nepali, Tamil, and Telugu, offering the audience a glimpse into the essence of South Asian culture.
There was also a traditional Palestinian and Levantine dance, named Dabke, that reflected the hope, struggles, and history of the Palestinian people. The rhythms of the dance symbolized the steadfastness and joy of their people, even when faced with adversity.
On the other end of the event, Ganeshkumar was a part of the “Crafted with Love, Baked with Purpose”, a student-led charity event with all proceeds going to the Malala Fund.
The Malala Fund is an international, non-profit organization that advocates for women’s education, especially in countries where it is banned.
“My favorite part has been planning an event, specifically something that is meant to promote a good cause; there’s so much value and importance in what I’m giving to this event,” Ganeshkumar said.
The students sold a variety of baked goods and crocheted hearts, with prices ranging from $3 to $5.
Additionally, attendees and participants had the opportunity to enter a raffle to win a basket with goodies from different countries, such as Vanilla Wafer Kit Kats, Strawberry Pocky sticks, Buldak ramen, and shrimp-flavored chips.
“One of the key things that sets Millard North apart from a lot of other schools is the diversity of experiences, cultures, and people, and having the opportunity to bring that to the forefront through the Tapestry of Travels is special,” Vemmelesseril said.
While you may not be able to physically travel to all of these destinations, Tapestry of Travels successfully provided attendees an avenue to explore the world outside MN.