A Canadian Banquet
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I’ve always thought of Canada as a banquet and the cultures of this world as dishes. The chefs always serve each dish with a unique taste - a taste that complements, yet never overshadows the tastes of other dishes. Through this synergy of flavours, an almost indescribable harmony is reached - a flavour which can never be achieved through a single dish, but only by taking the unique elements of each dish and combining them together. Canada is much like this, by taking the unique aspects of each culture and combining them. We end up with a culture containing all the unique elements of this vast world combined into a single beautifully diverse culture - the Canadian culture.
Having always had this notion in my mind, I couldn’t resist a grin when I heard of Interact’s International Banquet. I had to attend this years Banquet. After all, what other reasons would one need other than the promise of the famous Mango Chicken and a chance to take a much needed break from losing to the tweenTwlight fangirls that infested the badminton club I attended on Fridays?
However, how I found myself in the cafeteria on the day of the banquet amidst a sea of Interact conscripts was a mystery to me. What was even more mysterious was how Yuka and Victor (the organizers of the event) expected us to transform Bell’s less than stellar cafetorium into a glamorous banquet hall. Oh and did I mention we had less than 5 hours to do it? Needless to say, work began immediately, and I’m sure Yuka and Victor’s black belts in karate helped this process. In the end, all I have to say is that fear and frappacinos do wonders.
For a lack of a better term, the cafeteria was transformed into something amazing. Each table was lined with clean, freshly ironed linen, upon which rested dimly lit stained glass candle holders, as well as a basket full of fortune cookies in which were enfolded inspiring science quotes translated into various languages (courtesy of Ms. Hall’s physics class.) Silverware you’d expect from high class restaurants and wine goblets stuffed with neatly folded red handkerchiefs lay glistening upon each table. Various waiters brought around plates of appetizers (including my very own homemade salsa!) for guests who were milling about. To add an extra hint of internationalism, Mrs. Sutterlin’s International Travel and Tourism class had a series of presentations set up with information and food from various countries. And to top it all off, our very own string ensemble played Vivaldi for the reception. Very classy.
The detail of the rest of the night I’ll leave to your imagination. In summary, the food was great, the mythical Mango Chicken, catered by the prolific Dave Smith, lived up to the myth, and oh my god the home-made punch was good! It was universally agreed at my table that the punch was simply delectable, sweet yet delicate with just the right amount of carbonation to tickle but not sting the tongue.
The performances were great; I’m sure just about everybody in this
school has heard the raves about the Asian umbrella dance and the Bollywood dance so I won’t go into details, but rest assured they were just as amazing then as they always were. Being already a fan of the Asian umbrella dance, I can only say I loved it as much as I did the first time. However, having never seen the Bollywood dance before, I can say that I am now a fan. What astonished me that night was Bell High School’s very own Jenna Glatt, who sang alongside the soulful music of Canadian jazz pianist Brian Browne and the smooth plucking of our very own music maestro Mr. Stanutz on the double bass. I’ve heard stories of Jenna’s amazing talents from my peers before, but I’ve never actually had the pleasure of hearing her sing. Now, I can confidently say to those of you who have never heard her sing that yes, she is incredible.
The night concluded with a presentation by a member from the Rotary Club behind the purposes of the International Banquet, an African drum demonstration (which I volunteered for), and an enlightening presentation on Fair Trade by a local 10 000 Villages representative. Many of the guests who brought along a checkbook went home with a unique rarity from the silent auction.
All in all, the International Banquet was a great experience. I have done my best to describe the banquet with my limited lexicon and the short amount of time I have. I did not do the Interact Club’s hard work justice. The atmosphere of sitting in a candle lit banquet hall wearing the dress shirt you pillaged from your fathers closet the day before (which you can’t soil since he doesn’t know about it) with three other similarly dressed friends in similar predicaments, listening to world class jazz while eating mango chicken is nothing short of unforgettable. So next year, clear up your Fridays and go experience the wonder that is the International Banquet!