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The Awty International Festival

By Nicole Dunkel, The Awty International School, School Buzz Reporter | May 3, 2019

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Students try different foods at the India booth at Awty's 2019 International Festival. (Photo: Rick Huang)

Every year, the Awty community comes together to celebrate all of the different cultures and nations represented not only at the school, but also around the world. The 2019 International Festival took place in the quadrangle on Awty’s main campus over the course of two days.

Forty booths aligned the quad, each one representing a different country. Parent volunteers managed the booths and served food native to the country represented by the booth. Students learned about the history, language, food and culture of 40 different countries from around the world without ever leaving Awty’s campus.

Per tradition, every year a country of honor is chosen; and this year, Awty honored Panama. There were Panamanian dancers who came and performed for the students at the festival. The students also became knowledgeable about Panama’s culture by learning their dances, trying Panamanian foods, and learning about the country’s history.

The International festival allowed students, staff, teachers and even parents the opportunity to learn about different cultures, try different foods, and collect different souvenirs from each booth.

“I loved the International Festival because of all the different foods there,” stated 10th grader Maddy Cox. “You got to go from country to country trying the local candies and meals.”

The International Festival was truly one of the favorite activities for many of the students and will continue to be a strong tradition at Awty for generations to come.