The Lunar New Year Potluck, a festive celebration centered around the traditional Lunar New Year, took place on February 9 in the Media Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Attended by students, EHS and district faculty, Superintendent Edward Aldarelli, and
Edison Mayor Sam Joshi, the potluck was a joyous occasion that marked the auspicious occasion of the Lunar New Year.
This potluck not only recognized the Lunar New Year but also united people from different backgrounds, allowing them to display their cultural traditions and customs. The event allowed people to try unique traditional foods and learn about traditions from various cultures.
I go to the event every single year, and I even bring my kids every year because of how much they love it! The event has to be my favorite event out of all the ones throughout the year. My favorite activity has to be the chopstick event where you had to pick up different items. My favorite dish was most definitely musubi.
— s. Elizabeth Fedowitz
“The potluck was an entertaining and delicious way to promote Asian cultural awareness through a variety of activities and dishes,” said Mandarin teacher Mr. James Huang. “We hope to keep this event going strong through the coming years as more students come to Edison High.”
A Glimpse of The Past: Exploring Diverse Dishes & Various Activities
A wide array of dishes from various cultures were present at the potluck. These dishes ranged from rice bowls to a unique Peruvian drink, a pineapple coconut pisco. Moreover, foods like traditional kimchi fried rice, spam musubi, falafel, fish cakes, and rice bowls were present. This diversity in food was presented in part to give Edison students a chance to get exposure to new cuisines and learn about different cultures.
Furthermore, there were a multitude of activities conducted at the potluck, including dumpling folding; a chopstick competition, in which students had to pick up objects like marbles while being timed; red envelope decorating; origami tutorials; karaoke; ball pong; and a character memorization game. Each activity that a student participated in granted them a raffle ticket, making them eligible for a grand prize towards the end of the potluck.
Many of the attendees thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Students sing karaoke.
Idhika Turya ’24, Tyler McDonough ’25, and Wen Gao ’24 vie for marbles in the Chopstick Challenge.
Jacob Lee ’25, Derek Dudek ’25, and Kyle Lin ’25 try their hand at dumpling making.
Students compete in the character memorization game. All characters in the Chinese language are pictographs and represent the concept/object which they refer to.
“I go to the event every single year, and I even bring my kids every year because of how much they love it!” said Spanish teacher Ms. Elizabeth Fedowitz, a staff-attendee. “The event has to be my favorite event out of all the ones throughout the year. My favorite activity has to be the chopstick event where you had to pick up different items. My favorite dish was most definitely musubi.”
Students also shared this sentiment.
“Me and my friends participated in the karaoke and even sang ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ by Frank Sinatra, a great classic song from the ‘60s that everyone enjoyed listening to,” said Derek Dudek ‘25. “We also participated in the dumpling-folding contest and I won the best dumpling out of all the submitted dumplings.”
The chopstick competition ended up being a widely popular event. Students enjoyed the entertaining and competitive nature of the game, as different items were picked up by participants. Moreover, the dishes presented at the potluck ended up being a huge hit, especially the musubi.
Celebrating Cultural Unity Through The Potluck
The variety of dishes and activities present at the potluck not only allowed attendees to try delicious foods and engage in different activities, but also learn about various cultural traditions. The event served to promote Asian cultural awareness and provide exposure to students regarding the richness of different cultures and cuisines.
The potluck was an entertaining and delicious way to promote Asian cultural awareness through a variety of activities and dishes. We hope to keep this event going strong through the coming years as more students come to Edison High.
— Mr. James Huang
Events like the Lunar New Year Potluck unify students and create an accepting and diverse environment at Edison High. Hosting events like the potluck has helped students be accepting of the increasingly diverse population at Edison High and its various backgrounds.
“My favorite part of this potluck was how it unified students of different cultures,” said Jeremy Pandi ‘27. “The potluck was enjoyable as it increased my understanding of many backgrounds and cultures.”
