Tuesday
April 30, 2024 
On Wednesday, March 13, New Hope-Solebury School District hosted its annual Cultural Heritage Night, a vibrant celebration of the many cultures that comprise the school community.
The eagerly anticipated event was organized collaboratively by New Hope-Solebury High School’s Model United Nations Club, English Second Language (ESL) Club, Student Equity Committee, and Multicultural Club to honor and showcase various cultural traditions.
Over 300 students, families and neighbors had the opportunity to explore the festivities spanning the high school building. The cafeterias were filled with tables hosted by individual families, staff and community members highlighting a country of their origin. There were ethnic musical instruments, traditional games and cuisine samples filling the spaces with aromas from around the world.
“As always, Cultural Heritage Night was a huge success for bringing together the community to learn and teach about our diverse cultures. I personally had a great time experiencing everyone’s great food and hosting my own table,” said New Hope-Solebury senior and Model United Nations Club member Reed Finch.
Elementary students were given passport books to bring, encouraging them to explore all of the countries featured in the book and to acquire stamps for their passports. There was also an arts and crafts table themed around the book, “All Are Welcome,” by author Alexandra Penfold to engage students in collaborative art and to emphasize the importance of inclusivity and acceptance.
New this year, the district was able to feature professional dancers and musicians with generous support from the New Hope-Solebury Education Fund. A bagpiper filled the halls with traditional Scottish music and the traditional dances of India, Ireland and Ukraine were performed in the school’s gymnasium.
“What is most poignant about this event is the incredible participation of our English Language Development families,” said Superintendent Dr. Charles Lentz. “This population of families actively participates in the event, and they take tremendous pride in sharing their traditions with our community. One of these parents reached out to us afterward to say how much it meant to her daughter to be able to share her mother’s traditional cooking with her friends. This so perfectly illustrates why we do this.”
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