Two weeks before Carrousel of Nations returns, LaSalle high school hosts multicultural night

From South Korean snacks and Mediterranean dishes to Bavarian and Bollywood dancing, a high school in LaSalle, Ont. showcased the rapidly-changing diversity of its school community through a multicultural night which was open to the public.

Sandwich Secondary School hosted a multicultural night, open to the community, Friday evening inside its gym.

The school hosted a similar event last year during school hours — but a teacher who organized Friday's multicultural showcase said the 2023 event left people wanting more.

"We did it in the daytime over two periods at lunch. That wasn't enough time," said Carolyn Howlett.

"We decided, this year, we would do our very first evening event where we would invite members from the community and students to come in and show off their culture."

Howlett co-organized the multicultural event with Taylor Goddard who is actually one of her former students.

Goddard became a Sandwich student in 2009, pursued a career in teaching and now works alongside Howlett.

"Some people are doing henna. Some people have made their own Korean snacks," said Goddard during Friday's event.

"We have a lot of very interesting niche talents, as well as dancing and singing. You have Highland dancing, Bavarian dancing, Indian dancing, Macedonian dancing."

According to Howlett, the Sandwich Secondary School community has been getting "more and more diverse" as the years go by.

"We wanted to celebrate that because that's one of the strengths that we have in this school showcase," said Howlett.

Goddard, who used to teach at Kennedy prior to becoming a Sandwich staff member, agrees.

"When I was a student here, I saw a lot more people that looked like me. Kennedy actually had a really impressive multicultural night. So when Mrs. Howlett said she wanted to do this, I was all in," said Goddard. "I think it's so important that every student feels seen and visible within their own community."

Sandwich Secondary's multicultural night took place just two weeks before the first day of the 2024 Carrousel of the Nations festival.

However, organizers said the timing of the Sandwich event was completely coincidental and is in no way associated with the city-wide festival.