Host a Multicultural Night

Invite your families to share elements of their culture or ethnicity with other members of the school community through storytelling, food, dance, arts and crafts to celebrate the things that make each culture unique.

Use the ideas below and on our Multi Cultural Night Pinterest Page to make the night special!
Get more ideas and resources to engage your full community on our Engage For Equity page. 

​Games & Activities
  • Include a game area where families can play games from around the world.
  • Create a passport for families to get stamped as they visit different stations throughout the event
  • Host activity/craft station (e.g. Chinese fans, Mexican weaving, Aboriginal dot art, henna hands)
  • Incorporate a scavenger hunt by giving participants questions that they need to answer about various cultures
  • Include a laptop or tablets where families can investigate their last name and heritage

Music, Dancing, Visual Arts
  • Host a dance or music performance (ask students or community artists/dancers)
  • Invite a dance teacher to help families learn a unique dance from around the world
  • Exhibit student and family artwork that celebrates cultures across the globe
  • Show family-friendly movies or television shows from other countries
  • Decorate with maps and visual symbols from family history or different cultures

Storytelling & Family Sharing
  • Ask parents to each set-up a table with special things from their culture (books/fabric/music/pottery etc)
  • Consider asking students to bring a "me-seum" shoe box decorated with things from their culture
  • Ask families to come dressed in a cultural heritage costume
  • Ask volunteers to share traditional legends, explain about history and culture or read a famous story
  • Encourage storytellers to dress up as famous heroes or heroines and read a book from their culture
  • Ask a parent and student to have a bilingual reading (parent reads in native language/student translates in english)
  • ​Invite students, parents, grandparents and others to share memories from their own experiences
  • Facilitate a book swap area for families to donate a book about their culture and gain a book about another culture

Global Cuisine
  • Invite all attendees to bring a favorite family dish (if allowed at the school)
  • Reach out to local restaurants to offer in-kind donations or to exhibit with food samples
  • Host cooking demonstrations for global cuisine or cooking methods (e.g., sushi making)
  • Follow your school district’s guidelines for food provided during after-school events
  • Ask cooks to list each ingredient on a notecard to place in front of every dish and avoid common
    allergies such as nuts, soy, eggs and shellfish

Dates to Consider