The first-time event Monday at Timpanogos Middle School will highlight 17 countries represented by students, families, staff and community members associated with the school.
Timpanogos Middle School Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Yuri Jenson said the event has been in the works for a long time.
“We want to promote inclusion and cultural awareness as we celebrate and respect diversity in our school community,” said Yuri Jenson, Timpanogos Middle School family and community engagement coordinator. “Every table is going to host a country, and we’re all going to have display boards. They're going to talk a little bit about interesting facts from the country, and we're going to provide samples of traditional foods, desserts and drinks. We’re very, very excited for this event.”
She said there will be 18 different kinds of food from around the world, music, dancing and prizes for those who visit all of the stations of the different countries.
The Wasatch High School Jazz Band will perform, as well as Peruvian, Mexican, Bolivian and Irish dance groups from the Heber Valley, Salt Lake City and Logan.
The Latino Parents Leaders is one of the groups helping to run the event. Jenson said it formed last January and has since grown to 42 parents who support student achievement, events and relationships between families and school staff.
Timpanogos Middle School Principal Jim Judd credited the Latino Parents Leaders for making the multicultural night happen, as well as the Wasatch Parents Network. That’s a group that evolved from the local Parent Teacher Association to support student academics and extracurricular endeavors.
“This group of parents, in collaboration with me and the school,” Judd said, “kind of looked at what kinds of things they can do to just bring that community into a more harmonious and productive relationship with the rest of the community. This is kind of our first event where both of these different parent organizations are trying to celebrate an event together.”
The multicultural night Monday at Timpanogos Middle School is open to the community and lasts from 6 to 8 p.m.
Jenson and Judd said the goal is to start strong with this inaugural celebration and do it again in future years with more countries represented.
