Known today as International Day, this beloved celebration once went by a different name: Carnevale.
Before becoming the vibrant school-wide celebration of diversity that it is today, International Day had humble beginnings: a handful of stalls serving homemade meals from different corners of the world.
The popularity of the food stalls made it clear that this celebration had outgrown its beginnings. Enter the dream team–Rita Morabito, Vilma Rotellini and Sarah Travis, who recognised that the celebration had to be bigger. They each took charge of a crucial element: entertainment, food and music, respectively and turned a small yet vibrant food market into a festival.
The first official International Day or as it was then called, Carnevale, was a resounding success. Entertainment included roving performers, stilt walkers, fortune tellers, puppets, photo booths and student rock bands and choirs. Australian icons Diesel and Jenny Morris performed on the ground floor of the Reg St Leon building, now the site of the ELC playground. This open-air concert created an experience akin to being at the Globe Theatre as the crowd was so large, people watched from the balcony.
Since then, International Day has become a beloved occasion, honoring the diverse backgrounds that make up our school community–an annual reminder of the cultures we come from and the unity we share.
A heartfelt thank you to Rita Morabito for sharing this vibrant bit of School history.
