The Cultural Clubs of America, Inc. recently held its first in-person South Coast Cultural Conference at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The “Festival of Lights” featured cultures and holiday traditions from around the world for Cultural Clubs of America High School Chapters.

Over 100 students attended from Old Rochester Regional, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Wareham, Somerset-Berkley, and Riverview High Schools. The club teamed up with the UMass Dartmouth Leduc center to plan the event.

Students arrived at 9 a.m. and played ice-breakers and mingled with each other. This allowed students from different high schools to interact, something that usually only happens at competitive sports matches or debate meets.

Then, they saw a live performance of a Hindi love song from Diwali. After that, they transitioned to the first workshop of the day where students learned a traditional dance from the UMass Dartmouth Pan-African Student Association and learned origami from the Asian Pacific Organization. Then, they heard a presentation about United Nations Sustainability Goals, specifically about the goal of culture and hunger. 

Then attendees went into the second workshop of the day where students were split into small groups and went to a table led by the UMass Dartmouth Muslim Student Association, Haitian American Student Association, the International Student and Scholars Center, Iranian Students and Scholars Association, Caribbean Students Association, and World Central Kitchen.

Students had lunch in the college’s dining hall, which was a treat as they are not used to the buffet style food that college offers. Then they gathered again to learn a Korean “Strawberry Game” before the schools departed.

According to Dartmouth High School Cultural Clubs of America Advisor Lili Chamberlain, the school was “happy to meet so many international students from around the world. Our students loved hearing their stories and learning more about their cultures.”

The Old Rochester Cultural Clubs of America Advisor agreed. “This conference was an excellent way for students to learn about UMass Dartmouth and what types of clubs and cultures are represented there.”

All of the day’s activities fell under the Cultural Clubs of America mission statement. They united students from different high schools, educated students about different cultures, and exposed them to a variety of life experiences.