Members of the Douglas County School System Language Services Team provided educational resources for English and non-English speakers and brought cultural awareness to the community during the Cultural Arts Council’s Mosaic Multicultural Festival on Sept. 14.
Lizzy Kilgore, DCSS Coordinator of Language Services, said eight countries were represented at the DCSS Booth, which won “Best Booth” honors from the CAC.
“I was honored that we were invited to this event and represented our wonderful DCSS,” Kilgore said. “When I was asked what country our school system was going to represent in the Mosaic Multicultural Festival my answer was simple: We represent the WORLD! Serving our diverse school community is what makes us The Standard of Excellence!”
Antonia Avila represented Mexico (Spanish/English), Eva Gonzalez represented the United States (English/Spanish), Yoko Tubolino represented Japan (Japanese/English), Agnes Job represented Nigeria (Pidgin English/English), Lessy Lozano represented Honduras (Spanis
h/English), Irina Khatman represented Ukraine (Ukrainian/Russian/English), Jessie Lin represented Taiwan (Chinese Mandarin/English) and Kilgore represented Costa Rica (Spanish/English).
The DCSS team talked to attendees about traditions from the different countries they were representing as well as the clothing, landmarks, food, currency and languages that are important to their cultures.
Kilgore said children at the festival also learned how to greet and say “please” and “thank you” in the languages represented.
Attendees also had the opportunity to try special jelly candies from Ukraine called “Crazy Bee.”
Avila said: “I love and I am proud that DCSS was represented because it is easy to lose traditions, culture and heritage. It was beautiful to come together and feel that we belong to the school team.”
Lozano said one of the bands that performed reminded her of the Garifuna music from Honduras called “punta.”
“I also liked the time we shared eating foods (empanadas, pork skin, plantain chips, etc.) and learning traditions from the different countries,” she said. “We not only put up a booth, but we were representing the different cultures of the world.”
Gonzalez said that multicultural events like this one bring people together and make them feel like they belong.
“These events, which honor various cultures, can make people more open-minded and accepting of cultural differences,” she said. “They need a lot of planning, especially about what foods different cultures eat and what some people are sensitive to. It was wonderful to see a variety of foods, music and cultures represented at this event. I had a great time and look forward to the next one!”