MCHS’s Multicultural Fair will take place on April 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at MCHS Upper Campus.

The fair was created for families and students to see and learn about different cultures.

This is the second year of the fair and as years go on it is said to expand into much more.

This year there will be cultural performances, food and restaurant vendors, interactive booths that represent parts of the world and cultures.

“I believe that people should attend because it is important to learn about cultures that are represented in our community and celebrate the diversity that is present,” Kelsey Podgorski stated.

Podgorski, Assistant Director of Multilingual Education at MCHS Upper Campus is one of the many people helping at the fair.

“My goal is to have it expand and for it to be something that the community is excited about each year,” Podgorski said.

This fair has only had one previous fair last year so this is a very new thing that is just a recent thing starting up.

“Key Club is a community service club, we do all sorts of services both for the school and different charities and nonprofits in our area,” said Emma Theel, math teacher and Key Club Advisor at MCHS.

Theel has her students participating in the fair to help out and volunteer.

“I think it helps people to appreciate other people’s point of view, which is sadly lacking in today’s society,” said Theel.

Theel believes that the multicultural fair can redirect some people’s views on cultures and differences between them for the better.

Overall, MCHS is predominantly white but the number has been going down, according to the Illinois School Report Card. 3.8% of white students have  gone down since 2022. In 2022 73.2% of the school was white but now most recently in 2024, it is 69.4% white.

Another 26.3% of the school is Hispanic. This number has continued to increase since 2022, 2022 it was 23.4% and that has increased by 2.9% up until 2024.

In total, Hispanic and white make up a total of 95.7% of the school. Other parts of the school are 0.9% asian, 1.1% black, and 1.9% are two or more ethnicities.