By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – On Feb. 28, members of the Spring Street School community came together and were able to visit 26 countries in just 90 minutes.
Upon entering the event, families were given a “Passport” to take around to the various countries represented in the cafeteria where they were able to receive a stamp. Additionally, family photos were taken and they were then able to place a pin on a map of where their families came from.
“It’s a melting pot right? Every year we do something but this year we wanted to do something a bit different. We wanted to do an event where we are all exposed to each other’s culture, food traditions – there’s a cookbook with recipes, the attire and the things that parents and grandparents who emigrated brought with them,” explained parent volunteer Amber Khan. “It makes the kids think about their roots.”
The event, organized by the Parent Teacher Organization, featured a Culture Fair in the cafeteria where students displayed exhibits from 26 different countries that included artifacts, books and informational presentation boards.
Food from France, India and Ireland was available to sample and many wore traditional clothing from their homelands.
In the gymnasium, performances celebrated the cultures of China, India, Ireland and the Wampanoag Native Americans.
Student Grace Boucher said that it was really cool to see all the countries. She and her mother, Erin, made Irish soda bread for the Ireland exhibit.
“We are going to Ireland this summer and my parents will renew their wedding vows for their 50th anniversary,” Erin Boucher said. “We were home last week to visit my folks and they loaded us up with the artifacts. It was great for them to talk with their grandparents about all this and hear it from their mouths. It was wonderful.”
Photos/Melanie Petrucci