Students are bringing their rich culture from every corner of the earth to forge Atherton’s own unique community. Last Friday, Atherton hosted this year’s World Fest in the large gym over the course of 4 periods. This year’s theme was “United Through Culture.” Since 2024, Atherton’s Racial Equity Team has been putting together this showcase of Atherton’s wide variety of cultural communities. What started as an 18 booth novelty has rapidly grown into a school staple. This year, there were 35 booths representing dozens of countries.
Many Atherton clubs represented themselves with booths. The BSU (Black Student Union) returned with two booths, representing black food and music. The FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and CSU (Christian Student Union) also held their own booths this year.
Amal Qasem (12) has been doing the WorldFest for 3 years, and this year staffed the Levant booth.
“I’m part of the MSA board and every year we like to do Muslim countries. This year we specified a specific region in the Middle East; Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan,” Qasem said.
This year, Nishtha Patel (10) had the opportunity to work the South Asia booth.
“I talked to people about South Asian culture and helped pass out 2 popular drinks, Mango Lassi & Lychee Juice,” Patel said. “During the senior group, I helped at the henna booth, which was another part of our booth.”
As elaborate as these booths can get, Qasem highlighted the surprisingly straightforward planning and approval process to get a booth. Appropriate clubs and any additional interested parties are contacted by Atherton administration. Once the booths are verified, every participating group must make a list specifying any resources they’ll be using- tables, food, music, and any activities that will be done and what students will be presenting. The production of posters and any other creative elements are left up to the students.
“It’s a really easy process honestly, you just have to put in the effort,” Qasem said.
Mr. Klingenfus, the founder of the World Fest three years ago, said he was particularly struck by the wide variety of dancing at this year’s World Fest.
“What I’m noticing the most is the amount of student participation, both from the students that are willing to perform, but also from the guest audience. There is a dance teacher for salsa dancing with the Hispanic Student Union, another group from the Philippines is doing a stick dance. BSU, of course, shows up every year and they’ve got some hip hop music playing, and there’s also some line-dancing for everyone at the end,” Mr. K said.
Patel was most proud to be able to be actively involved with her booth, feeling that the experience drew her closer to her community and school.
“It was so much fun. Last year I didn’t get to help out, so being involved this time was a completely different experience. I loved seeing the work behind the scenes and how everyone prepared their booths right before the people rushed in,” Patel said. “It was really fun getting to interact with so many different people and share a part of my culture with them.”
Many booths found the way to the students’ hearts was through their stomachs. The Japan, the Philippines, Iraq, and Mexico booths, just to name a few, all offered a mix of traditional dishes and modern popular snacks and beverages. Mr. K reflected on this trend and the effect it had on the student body.
“The other thing I’m noticing this year is food. Probably over half the booths, if not more than that, have food this year. So, it’s a really neat sample of music, dance, culture, food, dress, and that’s the thing that brings everybody together,” Mr. K said.
WorldFest ultimately brings students together through culture, activities, and food. Students shared their excitement through music, dance, and many ways to connect. WorldFest continues to grow every year as more and more cultures participate. Next year can be even bigger with more activities as Atherton grows.
