Attendees at Cheney High School's Arts and Culture Night color at a table set up by the Writer's Club. The club came up with the idea of the event to showcase diversity in Cheney.
On Nov. 2, more than 17 clubs and classes set up tables at Cheney High School, all offering various activities related to their organization.
The French Club? Serving up hot homemade crepes. The floral design class? Hand-making rings and bracelets from real blooms.
The event was dreamed up by the Cheney High School Writer's Club, which came up with the idea to showcase the interesting clubs and classes the school has to offer, according to adviser and AP Literature and Creative Writing teacher Sara Leonetti.
"We love sports and love what they bring in for the school, but we thought it would be great to show what other activities there are as well," Leonetti said.
The Writer's Club brought their idea to other groups, which in turn suggested it at their own meetings. In no time, the inaugural "CHS Arts and Culture Night" was born, with more than 50 students volunteering their time to man booths for their chosen activity.
The robotics team offered a "Meet the Robot" station where kids could drive a robot of the team's creation, while the students from the photography course set up a photo booth and the AP Spanish class presented Dia de los Muertos sugar cookies for attendees to decorate and enjoy.
"All the activities brought forward were the student's own ideas," Leonetti said.
The event was more successful than its organizers imagined, said Writer's Club President Elizabeth Golden. They even had involvement from outside community groups, who provided activities like a climbing wall and cha-cha dance classes.
"We wanted to show people how ethnically and culturally diverse we are at this school," Writer's Club member and senior Ralphe Cascajo said. "It's so good to see everyone focusing on arts and culture this way."
The event's organizers said they hope the night will become a tradition that will continue to grow and be a staple at the high school, drawing in more community members as attendees and participants as the years go by.
The Art Club created a "Gallery Walk" featuring framed student work, while the Key Club painted children's faces with colorful designs.
Cheney's foreign language program and English Language Learners program also had a booth that asked visitors to guess how many countries are represented within the high school's student population. The answer? Twenty-two.
"I feel like our current times have been a little divisive," Cascajo said. "So we wanted to do this to show the community we can still get along and show just how many cultures there are here."
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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