Written by Arifa Baksh and Kathleen Khan

Festival of Nations once again brought the nations to the Townsend Harris stage in a variety of cultural performances, helping students to delve further into their backgrounds. Many spent long days and nights, wearing away the stage and classroom floors to perfect this production.

Senior Prea Khan, one of the three Caribbean FON leaders, describes these efforts.

“The only difficulty we had was making sure everyone ate between the shows since there was a limited time after the matinee due to the curtain malfunction. Other than that, we were prepared for everything FON could throw at us, from changing between groups to setting up our costumes.”

During the Friday night show there was also a mixup with the final and rough cut mixes, but all was well for the latter performances.

Sophomore Celine Roberts, a member of Virsa FON, described FON as a great experience. “It was my first time, it was very nerve wracking, but altogether fun. I met new people and interacted with others from different grades, as well as my peers. I also got an interesting insight on a culture I was not entirely familiar with, so it was also a learning experience.”

Finally, a group of past leaders must now pass the baton, having given their final performance before the end of their THHS experience.

“It’s strange thinking that after three years,” Prea said,  “I won’t be dancing in the halls this coming December, but I know Crystal, Briana, and I passed down our FON to four great leaders, who will showcase our culture and create an amazing performance for the coming year.”