News Centre

2022 Twilight Cultural Festival Prep Begins!

Teresa Croker (Year 12)

SMC’s Twilight Cultural Festival planned for Friday 28th October is an event not to miss. On this day, students, staff, parents, and our school community are brought together to celebrate the rich tapestry of diverse cultural heritages and backgrounds.

On this day, there will be a Cultural Mufti Day with musical in the courtyard from 2:00pm. This is followed by the Wear-Show-Tell the Story event with various cultural costumes and student-lead performances.

Then, the Twilight Festival commences at 4:30pm with a range of cultural food stalls, run by our Twilight Cultural Festival Parent Committee. They will introduce us to the exotic taste of Samoa, Tonga, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, China, Mexico/Latin America, Middle East, South Africa, India and Kiwiana.

Hand in hand with the cultural food-tasting are more exciting cultural group performances, including our very own Kapa Haka, our school’s Jazz and Rock bands, and special guest performances.

Currently working hard behind the scenes for another successful Festival are our Student-Teacher-Parent Cultural Festival Committee, Ms Kevern and our Cultural Prefect, Jenny Joseph and Salavaaia Lusi Ulupoao.

The Prefects share that “we are keeping in mind the past Cultural Prefects and their ideas because lockdown prevented them from going through with their plans. It will be the second Twilight festival but for a substantial number of students it will be their first cultural festival at Sancta Maria” which makes this event extra special.

Jenny says that “I have been part of the Indian dance group since Year 7 so Cultural Festival has always been a time to fully embrace my heritage with the cultural wear/dance and I enjoy being able to do this with my friends.”

Likewise, Sala adds that “I am very proud of my culture and am grateful to be able to embrace and share this within my school. Through this event, I hope that other individuals feel the same way.”

We encourage students to express their cultural heritage by participating in the upcoming Cultural Mufti Day as it is an opportunity to represent your amazing heritage and showcase the beauty of your culture within our School.

A multitude of dedicated students are putting a great effort into rehearsing and choreographing their Cultural dances and music items for the day. A series of articles will introduce these groups in the weeks leading up to the event showcasing the outstanding members.

Culture defines us as individuals and has been passed down from generation to generation preserving unique ways of life in aspects like dance, music, food and beliefs. Our multicultural community looks forward to embracing this on Friday 28th October with you all.