Festive fun shared with people halfway across the world, loads of dancing, pictures, food, face-painting, and a sense of community and acceptance of cultural differences: If you’re picturing Carnavale, you get it.

Carnavale (held on March 1st, 2018 for this school year) is a celebration held by all of the language honor societies every year in March. The idea behind the celebration is that people will find community and a greater appreciation of the languages and the cultures of the countries that speak those languages, while celebrating an age-old tradition with people across the world in countries such as Italy and Brazil, to name a couple; it is a variant of Mardi Gras (celebrated in America’s very own New Orleans and in France). The idea behind Carnavale is to give up carnal desires before Ash Wednesday to become “pure” and repentant until Easter (fun fact: Carnavale/Carnival actually is loosely translated to the concept of giving up carnal desires). This includes binging on food and dancing way too much. It is in tradition a Catholic celebration, but everybody is invited to join in on the fun, and Farmingdale High School is a big participant of the yearly excitement.

What I experienced was the fun I expected. There were tables stacked next to each other to make one long table, and on top were rows and rows of delicious foods: garlic bread, garlic knots, baked ziti, salad, cake, cookies—all enough to make anyone’s mouth water. They even had vegetarian and vegan options, which meant everyone could join in on the feasting. I had quite a bit myself, and went home stuffed with all the food I piled onto my plate (and a makeshift doggy bag I put together). There was an awesome party playlist going on in the background the whole time, with classics such as “Cotton Eye Joe” and “ Cha Cha Slide.” I could see my friends dancing to some of the hits the DJ was playing. The whole night, there were lines for face-painting and the picture booth. I personally got two designs painted on my left temple-to-cheek, and one photostrip with some of my awesome friends. There were two face-painters, and they both were working magic. At the photobooth, people were given options of silly props to use. I think my friends and I made good use of them—each picture told a new story, I’d like to think. My friends and I even did a bit of dancing while we were in line for both activities. The highlight of my night…was everything.