Pad thai, sushi, and crepes are just a few of the meals the Dining Hall provided the week leading up to the annual Cultural Fair. 

The Cultural Fair celebrates student diversity and the wide range of cultures present at the school. In previous years, this event was held as a collaboration between LinkAge, the school’s multicultural club, and St. Luke’s Society, the school’s community service organization. However, due to COVID guidelines and regulations, the Cultural Fair was canceled last year. This year, LinkAge has taken full control of the event with the idea of bringing past traditions back while introducing new activities as well. 

With cultural booths, live student performances, and cultural spotlight talks, the Cultural Fair is a special opportunity for students to connect with their classmates and learn more about one another’s values and stories. Marcus Lam ’23, a board member for LinkAge, said, “The multicultural fair is a great way for students to experience cultures firsthand. Hotchkiss provides the perfect setting for the interaction of [a range of] cultures.”

The Cultural Fair boasts nearly 20 student-run cultural booths with delicious and unique treats representing each student’s culture. Sasha Belland ’23, a host for the Canada booth, said, “The Canadian booth will be offering candy bars and the best maple syrup flavored snacks unique to Canada.”

In addition to snacks, some cultural booths provide information about their culture and its values. Giulia Hurlock ‘23, co-head of the Italian Society said, “In addition to offering Italian snacks such as focaccia, we [hope to] provide some information about Italian culture, such as the soccer culture.”

This year, the Cultural Fair welcomes several booths representing cultures that have not been showcased in the past few fairs. Allison Lin ’22 expressed her excitement to start a Taiwanese booth and bring Taiwan delicacies such as bubble tea and pineapple cakes to the cultural fair. She said, “When I came as a Prep, I was the only Taiwanese student, so I really wanted to bring more of my culture and share that with the people at Hotchkiss. It’s very nice now because there are more Taiwanese students.”

LinkAge also prepared novel activities leading up to the Cultural Fair such as the “food as culture” week. Mehar Bhasin ’23, a co-head of LinkAge, said, “The ‘food as culture’ week serves as an opportunity for students to come together to embrace diverse cuisine, which also exemplifies [the core message of] the Cultural Fair: to experience  and celebrate different cultures.”