By Maddy Mafrici and Jacob Roy

The two sophomore history classes are working together to put on the third annual Multicultural Festival on Friday. Ten unique nations will be represented at the fair. Unlike previous years, this year’s presentations have a theme: Taking a Stand. There will also be presentations related to global issues.

Thepebblemag.com interviewed history teacher Mrs. Chhablani, who organizes the fair, as well as four students. Here’s a Q&A with a sneak peek at Friday’s festivities.

Mrs. Chhablani

Q. Why did you pick the theme “Taking a Stand?”
A. I usually decide the theme soon after the conclusion of the [the previous year’s] festival. Often it matches the theme used by History Day. I didn’t realize at the time how appropriate the theme would be for this year.

Q. What inspired you to start the Multicultural Festival two years ago?
A. I wanted to find something meaningful for the students to do after the AP exam was over. I like projects when they have an impact outside of class. MPH was so welcoming of me and was/is so open a place in general that hosting a multicultural festival seemed to fit quite well. It was very important to me that the students wanted to do it, too. So before I made the final decision I asked them if they wanted to do it. They said yes!

Q. What do you hope the MPH community will get out of this?
A. I hope the MPH community will come to love embracing different cultures and peoples. It is so important in a community to embrace diversity in all its forms in order to build empathy and the strength of the community as a whole. If I can contribute a little to that through this event then I have achieved my goal.

Q. What makes this year’s festival stand out from others?
A. This year the entire class of 2019 will be hosting, not just the World History Intensive class. However, every year we try to do something different. I think what makes every festival stand out is that it is the students are hosting, not me. When they take ownership of the festival they put their own unique stamp on it. I hope the same is true for the class of 2019.

Q. What is your favorite part of the festival?
A. Everything!

Q. What is the hardest part of it?
A. Coordinating such a big event in a two-week period is sometimes challenging. However, it is so amazing how everyone in the school, and I mean everyone, rallies and contributes in big and small ways. It always makes this event extra special for me.

Taylor Germain (Country: Cuba)

Q. Why did you choose Cuba?

A. I chose the country Cuba because of its rich culture due to years of isolation and the many actions that have been taken over the past few years to improve the lives of the people.

Q. What’s the most impressive aspect of the multicultural festival in general as well as your own project?

A. The reason the Multicultural Festival is so impressive is because of the amount of work that is put into it and how grand the displays are. It’s also for all ages from Lower to Upper School and includes so many aspects that appeal to a large variety of people.

Q. How did you design your presentation/display to appeal to the wide range of ages that make up the MPH Community?

A. We designed our display for a wide variety of ages by putting fun, interactive activities near the ground for the Lower School and more informational pieces on the table for the older students and faculty. We are trying to make the whole display visually appealing, and [it will have] lots of food for all ages.

Q. What’s your biggest takeaway from the Multicultural Festival?

A. The biggest takeaway from the festival is how similar, yet individual, all the cultures are.

Q. What does multiculturalism mean to you?

A. The Multicultural Festival for me is a representation of all the cultures in the world and in our school. It’s a celebration of multiple diverse cultures.

Brian Wood (Country: Egypt)

Q. Why did you choose Egypt?

A. I chose Egypt because I have always been fascinated by its history and wanted to learn more about the issues they face today and how they’re overcoming it.

Q. What’s the most impressive aspect of the multicultural festival in general as well as your own project?

A. The most impressive aspect of the Multicultural Festival is the acts the students put on. The dances and songs they perform bring culture from all sides of the world and show how they can coincide with one another. The most impressive aspect of my project is our research on women taking a stand for [their] rights.

Q. How did you design your presentation/display to appeal to the wide range of ages that make up the MPH Community?

A. We designed our display to be flashy but informative so it appeals to everyone of all ages. It’s appealing to the eye but has information on the board that serves a purpose.

Q. What’s your biggest takeaway from the Multicultural Festival?

A. The biggest takeaway from the Multicultural Festival is that different cultures from all around the world can coincide with one another if we respect others’ beliefs and allow one another to prosper.

Q. What does multiculturalism mean to you?

A. Multicultural to me means different cultures and beliefs from all over coming together and sharing what they have to offer. Spreading ideas and beliefs helps open up everyone to things they’ve never seen or heard or tasted before. The festival to me allows for each culture to be represented and allows for everyone to take something away that they didn’t know before.

Sarah Antonevich (Country: Peru)

Q. Why did you choose Peru?

A. I chose Peru because I wanted a balance of countries and representation of Latin American cultures.

Q. What’s the most impressive aspect of the Multicultural Festival in general as well as your own project?

A. The most impressive aspect of the Multicultural Festival is the creativity of each country table. Each table has its own feel to it and the variety of different ideas is one of the most notable things about this festival. Also the diversity of food and culture representation is a great way to get everyone interested in learning and doing these projects each year.

Q. How did you design your presentation/display to appeal to the wide range of ages that make up the MPH Community?

A. For the Upper School students we have researched more advanced information to educate any visitors that come to our board. For the Middle School students we will provide visual and verbal representation of the culture through artifacts, pictures and art. For the Lower School students there will be games that represent the culture of Peru to make it more fun to learn about. As well, we will have food to appeal to all visitors.

Q. What’s your biggest takeaway from the festival?

A. The biggest takeaway is the research we did and really learning in-depth about a certain country and culture not really known to everyone. This provided a great opportunity for me to concentrate on a certain aspect of the world and see how other people in the world live.

Q. What does multiculturalism mean to you?

A. Multicultural means to be open and accepting of all cultures regardless of if they follow your beliefs, and being able to see the world from different perspectives.

Jack Murray (Country: Netherlands)

Q. Why did you choose the Netherlands?

A. We wanted to choose a country that was interesting and original. Since nobody else in our class was choosing a European country, we checked out a few cool ones. We decided to do the Netherlands because it was an environmentally conscious country with an interesting culture and history.

Q. What’s the most impressive aspect of the Multicultural Festival in general as well as your own project?

A. The most impressive aspect of the festival as a whole is the fact that it’s an opportunity to showcase cultures from around the world in a positive light. The media tends to show them negatively, or at least with negative connotations. This is an opportunity for students to interact with world cultures without any media-based bias.

Q. How did you design your presentation/display to appeal to the wide range of ages that make up the MPH Community?

A. Our display incorporates a lot of visual elements, which appeal to all ages. We’re also planning on serving some food—and who doesn’t love food?

Q. What’s your biggest takeaway from the festival?

A. Seeing the incredible complexity of some of my fellow students’ chosen cultures has left quite an impression on me. I’ll always remember to be considerate of others’ traditions and mannerisms.

Q. What does multiculturalism mean to you?

A. Multicultural means accepting and learning about other cultures, no matter how foreign they may seem.