HAVERHILL — Flags flew high and a range of languages bounced off the gymnasium walls, where students once again witnessed their school transformed into an international spectacle.
Last Thursday, the families of Caleb Dustin Hunking School showcased their heritage and traditions at the third annual Multicultural Night. It’s not just the biggest event of the school year, it’s gone worldwide, with 1,000 community members representing 18 different countries.
The night is a celebration of Hunking’s cultural diversity, Principal Tim Betty said, as the school invites folks to share flags, fare, music, games, and more. Families packed into the gym and cafeteria, setting up tables perfectly positioned to mirror their countries’ locations on a world map.
“It’s a great display of our diversity here,” Betty said. “It allows people to show this cultural expression all under one roof.”
Students ooh-ed and ah-ed while traveling from Jamaica, to the Dominican Republic, to Nigeria, then Brazil, and beyond. The sounds of musical instruments, sights of traditional treasures, and smells of global gastronomy all met in a melting pot of culture that night.
And the cheers continued as families took turns strutting down a runway for the school’s first-ever fashion show. It was a prideful showcase of traditional attire from the individual countries.
Multicultural Night explores more of the globe each year, Betty said, as each event attracts a larger crowd that wishes to participate.
Betty has been instrumental in hosting the school’s community events since he switched desks from J.G. Whittier Middle School to Hunking in 2020. He said he long had a vision for hosting such celebrations and once the idea was pitched at Hunking, those dreams quickly became a reality.
With the help of school staff members, Hunking introduced three annual events: the block party, the Thanksgiving Feast, and, the most popular, Multicultural Night.
“The first year was overwhelming, trying to organize it all and being unsure if it would work out,” Betty said. “But every year, I can say I’m humbled by the turnout.”
It’s a change of pace for the school’s events as Multicultural Night is a “family-facilitated” occasion, hence why it is a favorite.
As more are eager to take part, and anticipation grows each year, Hunking continues a successful streak of community events, reconnecting staff, students, and parents after the bell rings.