You turn the corner past the main office and immediately notice that the air is filled with a delicious aroma of a blend of spices and sweets. Peeking through the windows to the East Gym, you discover the source is the setup process for Culture Fest, an annual event hosted by Diversity Council, a leadership-based class, at Berkley High. Inside, you see the class of 14 students setting up an array of dishes and posters representing cultures from across the world. Soon, when the fourth-hour bell rings, an influx of students who purchased tickets will enter and get to go around learning about each culture and trying a ton of food.

Although I had heard great things about Culture Fest every year, this was the first year I was able to attend. Even though I was already excited for the event, my expectations were far exceeded after going! I was able to try a wide variety of ethnic foods, from cornbread and mac and cheese to sweet street corn and samosas. Students in Diversity Council dedicated hours to making many different delicious meals to share with the BHS community for this event, and it definitely paid off.

I began my journey through the gym, beginning with the table teaching about Black American culture and cuisine, where I sampled mac and cheese and fried chicken. Both were delicious and had me going back for seconds. I then moved to the Asian cuisine table, where I tried some fried rice. Already, lines for the food were beginning to get long, so I went to the table serving Jewish cuisine, the table serving Indian food, and then circled back to the French and Mediterranean table. Here, I had some delicious beignets and kabobs with tzatziki sauce. Personally, this was one of my favorite tables because the sauce for the kabobs was delicious! Senior Kamani Kirk ran this table and made its food. “I was up all night making it!” he said.

Along with Kirk, every student in Diversity Council put in a ton of time making their dishes. Still, there was even more time put in by the class as a whole for planning the event itself. I talked to senior Veah Green, who is taking the class for the first time this year. “We start planning about two months before the date to get a layout of how many tickets we want to sell to know how much food we would need. We put a lot of work into deciding the dishes and tables we want to put out!” She then highlighted how the week before, the class was in “go mode.” They all pull their weight to get the word out about ticket sales, making announcements on the PA, hanging up flyers, and posting online. This year, they sold enough tickets to make almost one thousand dollars, money that will go into the fund for the class. “The money we raise helps the class keep running, letting us plan and host more events and get the supplies we need,” Green claims.

After speaking to Green, I talked to senior Emelia Roder, another member of Diversity. She highlighted why Diversity hosts Culture Fest every year and why it is such an important event.Roder hopes that students will have a great experience, saying, “First and foremost, I hope they enjoyed the food! But also, not many people know about Diversity Council, or have come to the events, so I hope they take away some knowledge about the class and how it can be a lot of fun.” Green, similarly, highlighted that she wanted people to enjoy the food and “get some more knowledge on how diversified food can be, especially if people haven’t been exposed to many different ethnic foods before.” This event is definitely a great way to celebrate the diversity in our school and bring attention to cultural diversity as a whole.

This message was agreed upon by the wide majority of attendees I was able to talk with. Senior Alana White discussed how much she enjoyed Culture Fest. “This was the first year I was able to go, and I am really glad I did!” she said. “I loved all the tables, especially the one with the street corn. It was really fun to learn about where all these foods come from and get to experience them with my friends.” Overall, the success of Culture Fest this year was substantial, and I hope anyone able to attend next year will take the opportunity!