Irvington celebrates “Fat Tuesday”

By Karthik Mayilvahanan

On February 12, Irvington High School French Club set up a presentation, skits, and interactive displays for students to learn about and experience French culture. The theme for this year’s celebration was “francophone countries”, or french speaking countries. The countries represented were France, Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Haiti, Madagascar, and Monaco.

This year, the venue for Mardi Gras changed from the library to the cafeteria, and French Club advisor Madame Fabienne Cayla expressed her love for the new venue.

According to French Club co-president Eva Sinha, over 500 students attended the showcase. “Mardi Gras has always been the biggest event for French Club and french classes and every year it has been getting bigger and better.” said Sinha. “This chance to try all the different kinds of foods [from francophone countries] and learn about societies all over the world is a chance high school students don’t really get and Mardi Gras puts all that in one place as a simple celebration.

The event was also an opportunity for French classes to compete. Students collected tickets from attendees, and according to Mme. Cayla, the class with the most tickets would win a hot chocolate party. This year, the French AP class emerged victorious. The same students who are in the AP class have won the Mardi Gras competition in each of the previous three years. “I am very proud of of my AP class for winning,” said Mme. Cayla. “They are dedicated and have worked hard.”

Sinha added that to improve next year’s celebration, the club should look into better lighting and seating accommodations so that the audience has better interaction with the presentation and skits.