On Jan. 31, the cafeteria was filled with the smell of baked goods, jazzy tunes and the buzzing chatter of students at French Cafe Night. In collaboration, the French National Honor Society, National Music Honor Society and National Art Honor Society brought back this pre-COVID tradition, FNHS co-president, senior Sophie Park said.
“We [used] all the profits that we made from Multicultural Night and collaborated with NAHS and NMHS as a way to bring the cafe atmosphere into the school after so many years without it,” Park said.
To establish a cafe-like atmosphere, Park said FNHS members practiced French phrases and trained to be waiters. Additionally, all three clubs collaborated to host different stations, having their members participate by playing live music, waiting and serving tables and giving students a place to sketch and draw, Park said.
At the event, students could order an arrangement of baked goods, including croissants, cheese platters and cookies. This could also be accompanied by a cup of coffee, tea and water.
Additionally, NAHS had a croquis booth where students could draw models, NAHS president, senior Kevin Chang said. Although FNHS was very organized with the event, Chang said there were complications due to a large influx of people.
“There were a lot more people than we expected, so we initially only allocated two tables for our station, but then we got a third,” Chang said. “It’s also kind of hard to get people to focus on one thing, because a lot of people are eating as well.”
Nevertheless, Park said the planning process and product were successful. With each club promoting the event in the week prior, turnout was better than expected, Park said.
“I wasn’t that sure that so many people would wait and show up this long after school, but I’m really happy people stayed the whole time,” Park said.
Similarly, FNHS member, junior Claire Limsui said she was happy to see so many people enjoying themselves. Working as a waiter, Limsui said the job was busy, but enjoyable.
“I definitely did not think that many people would show up,” Limsui said. “I’ve enjoyed reading orders and serving other tables.”
Although she has volunteered at many other FNHS events, Limsui said French Cafe Night is unique because many people attended.
“This is the first time that we’re interacting with a huge crowd of people,” Limsui said. “I’ve volunteered for the staff breakfast and other after-school things, but never something like this, so it’s interesting. Hopefully, we can host more events like this.”
