The school held its annual International Festival, open to all members of the community, April 8.

Parents and foreign language teachers volunteered to host the festival.

“It was very well prepared, very well organized and I was impressed by the quality of the parents who put it together,” French teacher Madame Bovard said.

Bovard hosted one of many booths that allowed attendees to interact with and learn about different cultures. Other booths offered activities such as Japanese character drawings, Indian art called rangoli, origami and “name that British person.”

“I really enjoyed the food and the performances because they were really interesting,” junior Grigory Manyak said.

Attendees were also given the opportunity to watch a variety of cultural performances, which included the efforts of an Oxnard-based Japanese drum team called Togen Daiko.

The team uses drums called “taiko,” which are made out of emptied wine barrels.

“We have always enjoyed performing here,” Togen Daiko’s assistant director Scott Kujiraoka said.

Bovard’s class also gave a performance singing French nursery rhymes.

“The students who performed from my class had a lot of fun. It was very cute and I think they really enjoyed it along with the rest of the audience,” Bovard said. “I know I did.”

Sophomore Megan Weissman performed in a talent show with Bovard’s classes.

“It is lovely to see everyone coming together and uniting as one. Also it is great to see everyone so proud to be a part of their culture,” Weissman said.

The event was originally meant to be outdoors, but due to the heavy rain, the festival was moved into the Pavilion.

“This has been our fourth or fifth year we’ve been coming here to Oak Park, but this is our first year performing inside,” Kujiraoka said.

Despite the last-minute relocation, freshman Julia Barylak still enjoyed her time at the festival.

“The festival was a nice way to not only learn about the cultures of the world, but also have fun, listen to music and eat great food,” Barylak said.

Many said that it sparked appreciation for all the world’s cultures.

“I think the purpose of this festival and the yearly meeting of the cultures is to spread world peace, love and acceptance,” Weissman said.