As students scurry to finish any final touches, the chatter among students and teachers in the audience seems to silence their own voices behind the curtain. An energetic, The Cultural Runway show gave students a deeper understanding of the variety of customs and traditions practiced by their peers. This year Students saw Somalia, Nigeria, Mexico, Japan, Native American and many more cultures represented. Loud voice quiets the audience, the moment many students prepared for weeks leading up to the annual Cultural Runway is here.
Every year in February, administration holds a week full of activities, and events meant to bring students together and promote inclusivity around the school.
The week is called BLAST week, otherwise known as, “Be Loving and Sharing Together.”
Events held during this week include the Battle of the Bands performance, Family Feud and the Cultural Runway show. Students also participate through clothing, as the Student Council has certain themes aligning with the specific day.
The main intention of BLAST week is for the school to come together as a community.
When asked “how do you think BLAST week will promote diversity and inclusivity,” junior Student Council representative Emily Carillo said, “We have already done so many events where you can see people are really excited, like with the stage beatboxing yesterday you can see it gives students a chance to step out of their comfort zone.”
People wear it on special occasions, like weddings and stuff.”
— Bahjo Abdiraham
The activities during BLAST week are heavily relied on the involvement of students, which forms a community feeling between students involved.
The Cultural Runway show gave students a deeper understanding of the variety of customs and traditions practiced by their peers. This year Students saw Somalia, Nigeria, Mexico, Japan, Native American and many more cultures represented.
Sophomore Bahjo Abdirahman represented Somalia. Abdiraham is a 2-year recipient and enjoys participating in the runway show to show people she has a cultural identity behind what she shows at school.
Abdiraham and her friends prepared a traditional Somali dance with 14 girls. The piece of clothing they wore was called a Dirac. A Dirac is a silk garment worn on special occasions.
“People wear it on special occasions, like weddings and stuff,” Abdiraham explained.
One of the girls performing alongside Abdirahman was freshman Hayat Abduallahi.
Abduallahi was inspired to do the show because, “all of her friends were doing it” and she wants to represent her country and show “people how beautiful it is.”
The high yield of events during BLAST week required Student Council members to help prepare for these events through physically setting them up, collecting data from surveys, and overall completing behind the scenes work no one thinks about.
Carillo recalls preparation for the show to date back months ago. She talked about critical factors that came into play when planning such as how long they have, who wants to be in it, what they are gonna do differently from previous years.
“We are going to be hosting it for two hours instead of one,” Carillo explained.
BLAST week events and activities typically change over the years, as new Student Council members generate new ideas. The Cultural Runway Show’s first appearance was in 2018, and has been such a hit it has been continued since then. Every year the show continues to entertain its audience, but also creates an eye-opening, learning experience among students and staff.
