ISHCMC Celebrates Its Cultures in 2025 With the Annual Flag Parade and Food Fest

On February 21 and 22, ISHCMC celebrated its diverse cultures during the Celebration of

Cultures 2025, which included the Flag Parade on Friday (Feb 21) and the Food Fest on

Saturday (Feb 22). Let’s do a quick recap on both of the events that helped showcase our

school’s wonderful cultural diversity and community.

After multiple delays due to air pollution, the Flag Parade finally commenced on the Friday of

February 21, 2025, with students and faculty members from both Primary and Secondary

coming together to represent their cultures and watch the energetic parade. Before the flag

parade, a group of Secondary students took to the stage to perform classic songs such as Men

I Trust’s “Show Me How” and Laufey’s “From The Start”, building up anticipation for the event.

After the stunning performance, our Head of School, Mr. Longmore, dressed in traditional

Scottish attire, welcomed the ISHCMC community to the flag parade, giving a short speech on

culture and what it means, while also sharing an insightful poem. Then, the fun began. With over

50 countries participating in the flag parade, each country came out waving their flags and

wearing patriotic or traditional clothing. Ms. Laura announced the nations, along with a few fun

facts, with music blasting in the background. ISHCMC students and faculty members in the

crowd clapped and cheered for every country, displaying our ISHCMC spirit. The parade ended

with Vietnam, our host country, which garnered the loudest cheers, as Vietnam walked, waving

the signature red flag with the yellow star.

In addition, the Food Fest was filled with different stands dedicated to foods and drinks from

various cultures, hosted on Saturday, February 22. All the food was free, with each stand

funded by ISHCMC, while some had additional funding from their respective embassies. With

over 30 participating countries, the Food Fest was a beautiful celebration of our cultures.

Furthermore, the Food Fest also featured performances from different countries, such as

traditional Indian dance, Taiwan’s group dance, and more performances by ISHCMC students.

While feasting on the various foods, ISHCMC students, faculty, and family came to the field to

support the enchanting performers.

There were also activities such as banh chung making, arts and crafts, and traditional games.

The Food Fest ended with another highlight: the pie-eating contest hosted by the USA.

Composed of three rounds, competitors feasted on pies until they couldn’t eat anymore. in the

first round, none of the Primary kids were able to finish their pies, so the winning title went to

Grade 3 student Sunny, who ate the most in two minutes. A close race, the second

competition, which Secondary students participated in, saw Danko winning, eating the most in

the short minute. The third competition, also lasting one minute, was another Secondary student

round, with the winner eventually being Khoa, who another boy almost beat in the neck-and-

neck race.

An event to remember, the Food Fest honored the various cuisines across the cultures we are

so grateful to have in ISHCMC and it will be a remembered tradition for many years to come.