Deep Run is full of different cultures from all walks of life. To celebrate this, Equity Ambassadors created a whole night to celebrate this unique part of our school. After multiple postponements due to weather, this year’s Culture Night took place on Feb. 26.
Initially, the school celebrated students’ cultures with school day events instead of having a night dedicated to it. Culture Day was a day where people would come to school dressed up in their traditional clothing and share their culture through their wardrobe. In its second year, Culture Day became Culture Night. People still showed up to school in their cultural garb, but after school, a school-wide event was held with people sharing food and activities that represented their heritage and respective cultures. The night ended with a talent show, showcasing various talents from all across the world.
During the 2023-2024 school year, the event became much more established. People became more aware of the event itself, and some teachers started giving extra credit for attending, but many people attended regardless of the incentives. During last year’s Culture Night, activities, booths, and food stations were set up everywhere. The halls were decked with decorations and the Equity Ambassador team put a lot of time and effort into making the event a success.
From then, Culture Night has become an unofficial Deep Run tradition. People have started looking forward to the event, and share the excitement they felt leading up to the event because they had a rare chance to share their culture.
“I love Culture Night. I remember my freshman year everyone dressed up. Everyone I know looks forward to it, even at the start of the school year,” senior Alveena Khan said.
As the event has grown, activities like henna, games, and cultural art creations are made available, and attendees are given the opportunity to walk around and look at the array of cultures on display. Last year also saw the addition of a fashion show. People of different backgrounds dressed up in their country’s clothing and strutted down the gym’s catwalk displaying their countries’ clothing.
“Last year’s fashion show was amazing. I did it with my friend Alyssa. Seeing all the different types of clothing is super cool. The energy is also great. People cheer and clap, it’s just very positive,” Khan said.
Many participants look forward to the talent show the most. People sign up to share their talents, which range from singing and dancing to cultural activities. The school’s Desi Dance Club also performs a multitude of dances.
“My first culture day was so fun. I went as a freshman, and I remember my favorite performance being the one from Desi Dance club. It was great. I always look forward to the talent show. My friend, Denny, participated in the talent show this year!” sophomore Zahra Mahtab said.
The Equity Ambassadors begin preparing for the event as soon as the school year starts.
“We start figuring out the date of culture day as soon as school starts, so that we can book the Commons and gym ahead of time for rehearsals and the actual event, but we don’t actually start planning the event until about 2-3 months ahead,” senior Fiona Chan said.
But what they weren’t prepared for this year was the unexpected school days lost to inclement weather, which caused some major setbacks to the long-planned event.
“We try to plan for all problems and situations but sometimes things just happen and we just have to adapt. For example, this year Culture Day was pushed back several times due to snow days so we just had to regroup and adapt,” Chan said.
Despite this, the group’s teamwork made it easy to adapt.
“That’s what’s so great about having a club with so many members; everyone pitches in and makes the process easier,” Chan said.
Once they regrouped after the second delay, the process of executing the event began.
“We organize our members into different committees (decorations, advertising, community outreach, etc.) with each member of leadership heading each one. We have bi-weekly meetings, and committees also have individual meetings. Most of our committees are done with their work before the event, but groups such as the Decorations committee, the Fashion/Talent show committee, and the Stations committee start their work the day of the event,” Chan said.
Once the organization is set, the whole group bands together the day of the event to set up. The different committees help each other and prepare for the rush of people. Despite the prior setbacks and scheduling adjustments this year, they were able to pull culture night off.
The first hour of the event was set for people to roam and look at the various cultural displays and booths. From henna, to stress-ball making, to food, this year’s culture day had it all. School clubs also showed off their cultures.
During the second half of the night, the fashion and talent shows took place. During the fashion show, people showed off their traditional clothing. This year’s exhibition included countries like India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and many others.
During the much anticipated talent show, people played classical instruments, sang songs in their language, performed classical dances, and many more. The Desi Dance Club once again ended the talent show with a big performance.
Although Culture Night proved to be a big challenge this year, it also proved to be a big success. It has continued as a tradition that gives many the opportunity to share with the community what their world looks like.
