Although the Friday before Thanksgiving Break is often not the most productive academic day in the school year, an afterschool activity this year will provide an untraditional learning opportunity.

The International Festival, sponsored by the International Club, will occur on November 16, 2018, from  5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Chamblee Charter High School fine arts building.

“At International Festival, we’re celebrating all of the cultures that the students have and are part of the school,” said junior and International Club member Rachel Choi.

International Festival will have food, booths, and cultural performances.

“The performances will be in the auditorium and all the food and stuff will be right outside the auditorium,” said Choi.

Chamblee teacher and International Club sponsor Shaheen Begum is proud of the hard work that has gone into this event.

“My wonderful group of officers and I plan for this and we invite all the clubs in the school to participate, especially those that celebrate cultural diversity,” said Begum.

A large part of the festival is involvement from various groups on campus, such as Anatomy Club and German Club.

“We request them to have a booth and they can advertise their club as well but have something that is culturally significant,” said Begum.

One group includes Chamblee art students.

“Photography Club and National Art Honors Society participate,” said Begum. “So we have face painting, they’re going to do flags and painting of cultural significance.”

The Photography Club will set up a booth with various props from different countries that people can pose with. Additionally, there will be more cosmetic opportunities.

“We have a henna booth from International Club, hair shimmers from Anatomy Club,” said Begum.

Part of the goal of the International Festival is to educate visitors on traditions and activities they may not fully understand.

“Most people don’t even know the natural uses of henna, for example,” said junior and International Club officer Layla Dhabaan. “They just think it’s a cosmetic thing, but it actually really has some physical benefits.”

Another booth, called Reduce, Remove, and Conserve, is focused on environmental purposes.

“We’re going to be holding a raffle and promoting recycling across different cultures and doing various things,” said freshman Keegan Brooks.

Part of the reason for this booth is cultural differences in recycling.

“In some cultures, recycling is like a thing you do every day, but in other countries, it’s not really popular,” said Brooks.

There will also be food from various cultures around the world, made by members of the Chamblee community.

“I’m making croissants and I’m filling them up with chocolate and then glazing them on the top and putting some sprinkles on,” said Tanzila Jamal, who is in French class.  

Visitors are welcome to bring a family-sized dish, which can feed about four to six people, for one free entry into the festival. Additionally, some service clubs are getting involved, such as Beta Club, National Honors Society, and Interact Club and offering service hours for donating a dish.

“I love how people come here to get a taste of all of the varieties,” said Begum.

This year, there will be several professional performances.

“We have an Arabic institute called Alif Institute and they are bringing two groups,” said Dhabaan.  “One group is a group of children and they’re going to be performing a traditional Lebanese dance. There’s another performer and he’s an instrument player. He plays the oud, and that’s an Arabic instrument.”

Some performers are Chamblee students.

“There are going to be Bollywood performances,” said Dhabaan. “I heard there’s going to be a K-Pop [Korean pop music] performance.”

The performances don’t stop there.

“There’s also the fashion show,” said Dhabaan. “We have around 20 participants right now. They’re going to be wearing lots of traditional clothing. I’m going to be wearing clothing from Saudi Arabia, for example.”

Freshman Rudraksha Bhukhanwala will be representing a different culture.

“I’m going to wear traditional Indian clothing because that’s the place I’m from and I’m gonna do the catwalk,” said Bhukhanwala.

Historically, the International Festival has been in the spring.

“Since I teach an EOC [end of course] course, that’s a very critical time for me, as well as my students, and with the AP [Advanced Placement] tests, since I’m also teaching AP classes, that will be a very critical time for our students,” said Begum. “Every year I’ve seen that the participation is not what I expect because of the time of exam and students worrying more about that.”

By having the festival on the last Friday before Thanksgiving Break, students can enjoy the activities and not worry about homework.

“Another reason is that we never make it in the yearbook because it is that late in the school year,” said Begum. “I want my student’s efforts to be reflected in the yearbook.”

Looking into the future, Begum hopes that she will be able to expand the audience.

“We’re trying to make it bigger and better every year,” said Begum. “It’s ingrained in me. This has been my brainchild for a few years now.”

She has a few ideas on how to incorporate it even more into the school.

“I’d love, love, love for it to be a part of the school day, do a pep rally kind of assembly,” said Begum.

However, there are challenges.

“Many teachers don’t want to lose instructional time, so it gets really tricky,” said Begum.

For now, the festival will take place on November 16 and all are welcome to attend. The pricing is as follows: $3 for children under 8, $5 for students, $6 for adults, and $16 for a family of four. The International Club hopes that the festival can be a learning opportunity for all.

“Our goal is to celebrate cultures and help people learn about different cultures,” said Dhabaan.