On Sept. 22,  junior Yoslen Robaina Santana took a trip to the City Council Chamber to present the Multicultural Festival and request a $5,000 grant from the City Council with the support of Councilman Dave Morris. The previous year, Santana requested and received $2,500 from the Cass County Community Foundation, a non-profit organization that funds projects that benefit the community. 

“I wanted to ensure that the festival can be the very best it can be,” Santana said. “I also believe that this is a great event for our community, and I believe that the support of the community is vital.” 

Funding like these grants is not a common occurrence for the festival. Both the Chinese Club and classes participate in fundraising events in an effort to afford supplies.

“I had to do fundraising with dumplings and chicken-fried rice along with $800 in grants,” Chinese teacher Chunmei Guan said. “Each year, the major concern is receiving a grant and how to make money. A grant this large is very uncommon, and we are very excited.”

Students in any of the foreign language classes, a part of a foreign language club, or wanting to share their culture are all able to participate in the Multicultural Festival. Students who participate choose to join a stand from any country and help decorate their stand. From the beginning of the festival until last year, students were tasked with buying the decorations for their stand with their own money.

“Most of the time, the vendors had to bring their own decorations,” senior Radhe Patel, a member of the Multicultural Festival planning committee, said. “With the grant and previous fundraisers, Guan had around $25 that we could use to buy decorations for each booth.”

Participants can prepare and sell food, trinkets or play traditional games from their culture. Guan incentivizes and encourages students to participate in the festival by ensuring that all students keep the money they make while vending. Now with funding, she can further help students set up.

“I gave the Spanish club $50 to help set their stands up, and I encourage other clubs to join and perform on stage,” Guan said. “I try to give them money so that the students feel valued. It’s not big money, but even small money means a lot to students.”

A staple event of the festival is the performances at the end, such as a local band playing or a student fashion show. With the grant, students can expect more creativity from the festival. 

“With this grant money, we will be able to get more culturally diverse performances and support local bands,” Santana said. “Overall, it will allow us to benefit our vendors and our performers.”

As a result of this grant, Guan and members of her planning committee, such as Patel,  have high hopes for the future of the festival and the possibility of it becoming a city-wide event.

“It can be done, but it needs a ton of planning and a lot more money than $5,000,” Patel said. “I think it’ll grow into a bigger event. Last year was pretty big, but I feel like this year will be the biggest.”