Stroopwafels, quesadillas, and crêpes — this was just a sampling of the cuisine featured at the Morris Hills Multicultural Dinner that was hosted by the Morris Hills E.R.A.S.E Club.  It was a multi-hour celebration of the diversity of different cultures and backgrounds of the MH student body. Over 175 staff members, students, and parents attended the festivity, learning and tasting their way through a plethora of dishes from all over the world. E.R.A.S.E Club adviser, Mrs. Ghetti and club president Arta Boljevic, along with numerous volunteers, worked tirelessly to make sure this event would run smoothly.

The planning process for Multicultural Dinner was long and tedious. It had been a while since the last time the dinner was held in 2018. Arta Boljevic said the planning process was filled with stress, laughter and worry. As president of E.R.A.S.E, Arta was tasked with planning the dinner. As many students were not familiar with the event, as the previous one took place pre-pandemic, they did not understand the extent of effort needed to ensure a successful event. Besides from a handful of seniors, no one in the student body knew what this event was or its significance. Arta said that in addition to convincing students and teachers to come and participate, she also had to figure out how to get all the different foods and what activities to plan to fill the booths around the cafeteria. Unfortunately, there were only three performances, with two of them being E.R.A.S.E club members. But thanks to help from others, especially the world language teachers and students who agreed to host booths during the dinner, the event was able to run smoothly.

Arta Boljevic described the E.R.A.S.E club advisor, Mrs. Ghetti, as “an angel during the entire process, guiding and helping to make this entire dinner possible.” Arta also wanted to recognize the rest of her E.R.A.S.E club members who put in numerous hours promoting the event and helping to brainstorm creative ideas and activities. She explains how they “came into our meetings with the brightest smiles, always ready to help plan.” Lastly, Arta wants to thank the cafeteria staff, the custodians, Project Lead members and Social Studies Honor Society volunteers who stayed before and after the dinner, helping to both decorate and clean up.

So what about the actual dinner? Besides the DELICIOUS food from over 50 countries being served, Arta and her club members ensured that all the attendees would be able to have fun and enjoy learning and celebrating other cultures. Arta said that the “atmosphere of the multicultural dinner had to be one for the books” as she was in a state of shock at all the wonderful people that actually came. Throughout the dinner, there were many laughs and smiles, which was a heartwarming sight for Arta and her club members as they realized that all their hard work paid off. The night was filled with dancing, tasting delicious foods from all over the globe and watching fascinating talent and visiting amazing booths. These booths featured activities such as making quesadillas, creating delicious crêpes, painting Polish flowers, making Ecuadorian bracelets, playing Mancala, getting Henna Tattoos, and making Dutch stroopwafels! The German Club with advisor Mrs. Stevenson performed a German Folk dance for everyone to enjoy. The night also featured Hiba Khan and Laiba Khan who performed a Bollywood dance and Brianna Ugarte who performed a Peruvian dance! 

Mrs. Ghetti was appreciative of all of the support, and was grateful to the MHREA (Morris Hills Regional District Education Association) for donating food from Thai Nam Phet and Delikositas for the dinner.

The Multicultural Dinner is necessary for the MHHS community and is an example of unity and embracing of each other’s cultures. This dinner was the stepping stone for other cultural events to come. Arta is proud that she was able to host a dinner before she graduated. 

Special thanks to Mrs. Ghetti and Arta Boljevic for helping contribute to this article and providing photos.