Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School held its third annual free Cultural Festival that celebrated cultural diversity with food dance and music.
The festival was initially created three years ago by the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee at the school to get to know parents of the students through food and music. But due to the nature of the event’s inclusivity, it successfully grew into a community event says
“The only time you would see parents is in a parent-teacher interview,” says co-chair of Catholic Parent Involvement Committee Teresa Ricci-Oliveira at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School.
“It is nice to get to know more of the parents, and so by putting on this type of event with food and music, a lot of people get together.”
The featured food from different cultures such as Guatemala, Poland, Germany, Budapest, India, Philippines, France, Canada and Eritrea among many others.
It also hosted performances by Hungarian and Philipino folk dancers, and the Coro Cantialia Guelph choir.
“It's interesting going through the different cultures and different tables. It doesn't matter if they're European, African – there are so many things that are the same amongst all of us,” says co-chair of Catholic Parent Involvement Committee Christina Redmond.
She says by observing the differences, one is able to realize how similar human beings are.
“You know were all the same. We all speak different languages but were all the same. We all smile, we all cry,” says Ricci-Oliveira.
Olga Cosillo De Reynoso, a member of the community who represented Guatemala says she attended the festival with her husband Luis Reynoso because she wants to show her county’s culture.
She made dobladas for the event, a traditional Guatemalan dish to share with the community.
“It's important to share a laugh and a smile with one another,” says De Reynoso.
