On March 28, the Multicultural Student Union will host its first ever Multicultural Festival at Rockbridge County High School. The festival will start at 5 p.m. and is open to the community.

Mr. Jay Rodriguez, a first year Community Schools Coordinator for Rockbridge County Public Schools, is helping to plan this event.

“Basically, the idea came from the Multicultural Student Union, which is a club here in the school, [where] students from all cultures meet every Friday and they talk about topics,” said Rodriguez. “Back in the day when they started the club, I was one of the sponsors.”

At the festival, many countries will be represented. China, South India, Vietnam, Black Culture, Appalachia, and Jamaica are a few of the cultures that will play a part in the Multicultural Festival. 

Free food, music, and crafts will be offered to the community. In this, Rodriguez is supporting local Lexington businesses.

“We are trying to support local businesses as well, so we are getting food from Golden Garden and Muchacho Alegre,” said Rodriguez.

RCHS Senior Malia Fitz is the president of the Multicultural Student Union and plays a large role in the planning of this festival. 

“The idea for a multicultural festival stemmed from the Multicultural Student Union Holiday Event. In the past, the event was just club members getting together to celebrate each other’s cultures,” said Fitz. “Then Mr. Rodriguez and community schools offered to help elevate the event.”

As Fitz shares, this has “been a long planning process.” 

“It proved to be pretty difficult at times in terms of communication,” said Fitz. “But as the president of this club, I could not be any more proud of what we have created.”

Fitz hopes to leave a positive impact on the RCHS community with the Multicultural Festival by giving a safe space for students of color.

“I want people to not be afraid of making change, even if it ruffles a few feathers,” said Fitz.

This year, Rodriguez wants the community to be involved with the festival. 

“We are definitely looking for volunteers from the community,” said Rodriguez. “If they want to participate, they just need to let me know. It is going to be an exciting night full of cultural wonder,” said Rodriguez. 

If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, contact Jay Rodriguez at [email protected].