Inspired by Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” and set at “Monsters University,” this year’s Heritage Fair transformed the stage into a celebration of culture, ranging from traditional Indian dances to K-pop group performances.

Heritage Fair, a Carlmont tradition, is an assembly where many cultural clubs across campus get to showcase their heritage through performances. 

“The purpose of Heritage Fair hasn’t really changed that much over the years. The location and types of performers have changed. There were some years when it was held on the football field because the student body fit in our bleachers,” said Activities Director Jim Kelly.

Jayden Lee, the lead facilitator of the Associated Student Body (ASB) Assemblies commission, explained that his favorite part of the assembly was the performances.

“I remember last year, a lot of the clubs would tell me that they spent so much time preparing for the Heritage Fair, and just being able to see their excitement and their effort being put on the stage, that’s what I really love about it,” Lee said.

According to U.S. News & World Report, about 57% of Carlmont students are people of color, indicating that many students come from diverse cultural backgrounds. 

“I have always been very in touch with Chinese culture outside of school, but it’s very rare for me to be able to perform for to our entire school, so Heritage Fair is definitely a beautiful opportunity to showcase the alluring cultural dances from China,” said Michelle Ahl, co-president of Chinese Culture Club.

Not only does Heritage Fair offer cultural clubs the opportunity to perform, but it also offers audience members a way to expand their knowledge of other cultures.

“It makes people want to explore different things and exposes them to different cultures, because there’s not a lot of diversity on campus,” said Imani McGriff, a member of Black Student Union (BSU).

BSU performed at the fair, delivering a performance featuring dancing to a mashup of pop and R&B songs, with the crowd cheering them on and singing along.

“We’re representing a culture that hasn’t been present on campus for two decades, so it feels like a big deal. But I’m excited to be able to have this opportunity to even present this to Carlmont,” said Emily James-Johnstone, a member of BSU.

Another new addition was the Ping-pong Club, featuring Carlmont senior Yuan Xia, an Under-19 World Table Tennis quarterfinalist and 2024 MVP of the National Junior Table Tennis League.

Xia and his partner, William Feng, went head-to-head in an exciting match that stole the crowd’s attention.

“It was really awesome, I was so excited seeing them go back and forth. I just thought it was such a cool addition to Heritage Fair,” said Carlmont sophomore Reagan Simon.

Another unique performance was Carlmont’s Jazz Ensemble, which played The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” a classic pop-rock song.

“For Heritage Fair, we usually choose more popular, less traditional songs that everyone knows. Because we aren’t playing in front of judges like we usually do, instead, it’s in front of a larger audience, and we want to target our songs toward them,” said Seoha Kim, a guitarist for Jazz Ensemble.

Similarly, other clubs tailored their performances specifically for Heritage Fair, leading some to differ slightly from typical cultural shows.

“Chinese culture club meetings are more interactive, but there is obviously a limit to what kind of activities we can do for meetings, so Heritage Fair offers the opportunity for people to create their own pieces that represent Chinese culture, work hard on them for a long time, and perform them for the entire school to see,” Ahl said.

Ahl reflected the broader effort that many clubs put into preparing for the assembly, arranging music and dance to fit the larger audience. The result was a lineup of performances that balanced cultural authenticity with entertainment value.

“I thought last year had more cultural references, but this year it was a lot more engaging and fun to watch. All of them kind of had this story to them, and they just came together really well, and I think everyone did such a good job. It was just a very well-executed performance that represents Carlmont’s culture,” Simon said.

While the assembly lasted only an hour for most of Carlmont, it took months of preparation, organization, and practice to bring every performance to life.

“There are more performances this year and last year than the years before. We really had to jam pack our schedule, because there’s 10 or 11 clubs that want to perform,” Lee said.

Carlmont’s Associated Student Body (ASB), is in charge of organizing Heritage Fair, with the Assemblies commission in particular planning each part, from the script to the actors.

“This year, we’re trying to take a step back from having scripts where the audience has to really focus on and are kind of difficult to understand what’s really going on. Our scripts are short, our transitions are short, and we’re giving more time so that the clubs have more time for performances, and we can include more,” said Nicolaas Foks, a member of the Assemblies commission.

One of these clubs, Black Student Union, was new to performing at Heritage Fair, replacing Latinos Unidos, and attending for the first time in around 20 years.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking. Since it’s just me and Imani performing, we got a little scared during our practice in the gym. But we know it’s going to be really hype,” James-Johnstone said.

With each performance comes responsibility, as clubs perform in front of half of the school, over 1000 students, at a time. 

“Because I perform with my friend, we started planning our dance the previous summer, because coordinating takes time. However, our serious training doesn’t start until several weeks before the event,” said Michelle Peng, Chinese Culture Club member.

In contrast, some performances began preparing much later.

“For this year, we just got the announcement that we are playing at this Heritage Fair. So we first practiced it on Tuesday, and I think we’re gonna practice on Wednesday too, and then we’re performing on Friday,” Kim said.

Kim explained that he, along with the rest of the Jazz Ensemble, felt as if this was rushed. Though the performance is around an hour long, each performance gets roughly 5-10 minutes, so they must fit everything they’ve prepared into that time.

“Heritage Fair performances may overall be a small thing, but I think it’s significant because I get to show my heritage and hold on to that part of myself. Also, I’m able to pay tribute to my culture and those before me,” said MyaGrace Moala, president of the Pacifician club.

Throughout the preparation of ASB, conflicts with the timing of Heritage Fair began to emerge, most notably the DECA States competition, which overlapped, leaving around 100 students in Anaheim for a conference instead of at Heritage Fair. Lee, the lead facilitator, was among these students.

“That was actually a really big problem, because three out of five of the people in our commission were planning to go to DECA. We reached out to Principal Buckland Murray to see if we could change the date, and overall, the answer was no. So, we had to work with what we had, and we’re trying to set it up as best as we can so that the other two members can do whatever they need,” Foks said.

Ultimately, despite multiple setbacks and changes to this year’s assembly, the purpose of Heritage Fair, as well as ASB’s role in it, hasn’t shifted.

“Heritage Fair gives our students the opportunity to display their heritage through performances. It’s a great opportunity for those watching to be inspired by the incredible talents we have here at Carlmont,” Kelly said.