This year marks the 12th year of the annual Cultural Outburst, one of the main events during the spring at Loomis Chaffee. Taking place on April 9 at the Grubbs quad, the event highlights the diversity of cultures on the Island and brings the community together.
“Cultural Outburst was started by a PRISM member who brought it to my attention, and her dream was to bring the school community together and to showcase all the different cultures throughout,” said Lilian Hutchinson who hosted the event.
Whether it be food, music, dance, traditions, or religion, everyone would bring a little bit of their culture to the table. “I think this is a good opportunity for us to be able to put at least a portion of our culture on display and spread awareness about Afghanistan and the beauty of its tradition,” said Moslima Hassani ’24. “I hope everyone gets to dig deeper into cultural diversity, raise awareness and celebrate the beauty of various traditions from all over the world.”
“The students participating in the event also have a lot of fun preparing for it,” said Seth Sukboontip ’23. “They get to cook with other kids from their culture and share it with the rest of the school. The other Thai students and I will be showcasing a ubiquitous dish found in Thailand. The Thai omelet is a staple that is found virtually everywhere, yet it doesn’t really get the international recognition that it deserves! Therefore, we want to tell the community about a simple and delicious Thai dish that reminds all of us Thai kids of home cooking.”
Furthermore, students get a chance to show their heritage and celebrate them. “Our PRISM students tend to really showcase all the heritages that they represent too so it’s also not just an international student event,” said Mrs. Hutchinson.
The Cultural Outburst is an event for all the people on the Island to come together and have fun, but it is also a way to send a message to the community.
“A message I hope to send to the community is to embrace differences,” said Mrs. Hutchinson. “Differences may be scary and differences might be uncomfortable sometimes but embracing those differences allows you to grow as an individual and that’s what we are as a school.”