Parents looking to expose kids to foreign cultures without the expense of world travel — not to mention the threat of exotic viruses — should look no further than the Lowry neighborhood today, when an exotic carnival will overtake the streets in front of the Denver Montclair International School.
DMIS is hosting its annual International Bash, a carnival-style street fair chock-full of food, music, crafts, and dance performances from across the globe.
The school offers a language immersion program in which children learn a standard curriculum from native-speaking teachers who deliver lessons in French, Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. Today’s carnival helps build a sense of community, but there is another goal for the event.
“We have over 30 different nationalities represented at our school,” says DMIS executive director Adam Sexton. “The carnival is really about celebrating our diverse international community.”
Two stages will host salsa lessons, Irish dancers, limbo contests, karate, fencing demonstrations, a Chinese lion dance led by Wah Lum Kung Fu, and a set by blues band the Delta Sonics.
Kids can scale an inflatable bouncy castle or climbing wall, or they can visit one of four “villages” containing foods and crafts representing the four main languages spoken at the school — English, Spanish, French and Mandarin.
At “Le Pavillon Francais,” for instance, they’ll find fresh crêpes with fillings both sweet (lemon, strawberry) and savory (ham and cheese), plus a patisserie bakery and face-painting.
“El Paseo Español” will include a piñata workshop, a hair-braiding stand, tamales, enchiladas and paella.
Look for an origami workshop in the “Asian Garden,” a craft area where kids can paint their own dragon fans, and food selections include egg rolls, fried rice, steamed dumplings and fortune cookies.
Rounding out the villages is “Main Street U.S.A.,” where they’ll serve pizza, hot dogs and Caesar salad, and offer paint-your-own bandannas and terra cotta flowerpots.
All of the village activities are teacher-run, and each class from the school has prepared a dance, skit or song to perform on the main stage.
French teacher Benedicte Ogilvie has been preparing her third-grade class for three weeks.
“Each performance includes something cultural, so my class will sing a French song and do a little hip-hop dance,” Ogilvie says. Her students’ medley fuses John Lennon’s “Imagine” with “Un Monde Parfait” (“A Perfect World”), by French pop singer Ilona Mitrecey.
“It’s nothing too serious,” Ogilvie says. “But it’s all they can talk about.”
International bash carnival and street fair
Hosted by the Denver Montclair International School
When: Today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 206 Red Cross Way, Denver
Admission: Free
Details:
