When Meleck Eldahsoury was a junior at Minnetonka, she got the idea to host a fun event to spread diversity in our school. She felt that “there was just something missing related to DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] and that there wasn’t a space where [she] could connect with [her] culture.” She wanted to make an event hosted and planned by the student representatives, because she was in student government, but was shot down at first. However, this just encouraged her more to make this event happen.
Eldahsoury was able to meet with Mr. Erickson and gained guidance from a few counselors at Minnetonka that supported her to keep going even as the fair got postponed. Eldahsoury was able to gain support from the people around her, especially Deepti Pillai, ‘24, and Katrina Tadros, ‘22. After a couple months of hard work, the Cultural Fair happened for the very first time and it was a raging success. Ever since the event in 2022 the Minnetonka Cultural Fair has quickly become a Minnetonka High School staple. Every year, the student body joins together and help each other create a wonderful community for everyone to share their culture. As time has gone on, Eldahsoury has been able to keep in touch with the fair’s growth, but this is the first year where she will not be involved at all. Even though she may not be involved anymore, she’s still “excited to see where it goes [and she] is happy that it’s continuing to happen.”
This year the Cultural Fair is taking place on February 28th. There are more than 35 booths this year representing all different types of countries and cultures ranging from Native American cultures to the many Asian booths that fill up the whole cafeteria. Every year the gyms, commons, and cafeterias are filled with food, music, and activities from all over the world. This includes dancing in the gyms with the Latin cultures and the surplus of food from the Asian cultures. The Culture Fair has a place for all so take advantage of this opportunity and take in the beautiful cultures that Minnetonka has to offer.
