The International Festival Brings a Parade of Nations and Flavors to the PACA Campus

Caption: A special high school choir organized by Wesley Penteado performed during the assembly for the Festival. [by Annabelle Harper]

On September 27, 2025, PACA hosted its annual International Festival in the hopes of bringing the PACA community together and also inviting families who are interested in sending their children to PACA in the future. Although it is the first festival of the school year, this is the first time that PACA has hosted two International Festivals in the same calendar year.

For the second time in a row, the International Festival started off with a special assembly and opened with a parade of nations. The teachers carry the flags of the country that they represent or a different country that is a part of or a student’s nationality.

After the parade of nations, the superintendent, Mr. Stephen Meier, welcomed everyone to the International Festival.

His introduction was followed by Kevin Flurry explaining three different reasons that PACA was celebrating at this event. The first reason was to celebrate the 27 different nations represented by people in the PACA community.  

Another reason was being able to come together as a community to have this time together on the PACA campus.  Finally, they were celebrating the opportunity to give back to PACA; which was the primary goal of the International Festival. 

PACA’s International Festival is used to raise funds for some ministries that they support. The two different organizations that they support are Casa Abba and Lar Tia Edna.

Flurry also gave some more information about a ministry in Brazil named “Abba.” Abba was originally founded In 1993 by a group of missionaries. They are also taking care of 370 kids and families. Abba helps kids and families and integrates the word of God into their lives while they help them.

Then Flurry talked about the ministry known as “Lar Tia Edna.” According to Flurry, Lar Tia Edna was founded in 1957 by Edna Blanche Deakins. Now they have 12 kids that they are helping. Flurry then shared their prayer request to get new collaborators and support.

He completed his talk by explaining that the ultimate purpose of the event is to serve and honor God.

After talking about the missionaries who would receive portions of the money raised during the festival, the high school and middle school worship team sang two worship songs, “This is Amazing Grace” and “Poder Pra Salvar,” which is the Portuguese version of the worship song, “Mighty to Save.”

The elementary teachers took part in what followed.  The two fourth grade homerooms came together to sing two worship songs. graders performed. They sang, “Good, Good Father” and “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.”

The assembly continued with a drama monologue called “The Unspoken Word” which was performed by Junior student Renato Gloe. After that, the high school ensemble sang two songs before the final announcements and prayer were given.

After the assembly, everyone made their way to all the different food stalls that PACA had recruited. Near the gym, there was the Mexican booth which served tacos and the Brazilian booth that served a variety of pastels.

Different foods from countries around the world were served in the International Festival. [by Dr. Cristina Meier]

In the Pop Shop was the churrascaria which had multiple different kinds of meat. Near the fountain, there was a new chicken stall which was a big hit among the visitors.

Inside the kiosk, there was an American booth with many different sweets with varieties of each sweets along with the Brazilian sweets and coffee.

For those who ventured into the cafeteria, there was an Italian booth, Portugal booth, Chinese booth and a Japanese booth from which to sample a variety of native foods. Nearby, at the pool side table area, there was a Korean booth. The Festival also included a Swiss booth and a Greece booth in the breezeway.

Through past the breezeway and into the elementary playground, there were the high school games for children to play if they had the right number of tickets. Each high school class had a fun and interactive game prepared for students to enjoy. The two freshmen homerooms came together to provide ladder golf. The sophomore class had a basketball competition, the juniors had a small mobile mini-golf course, and the seniors had a soccer goal challenge.

As participants and visitors walked around the PACA campus they also had the opportunity to purchase drinks that were being sold at the drink stand located at the flag poles.

This year’s International Festival was very impactful with a total of 1033 total people that showed up. Compared to last year’s attendance, we almost topped it by 100 which definitely shows some promising outcomes for the PACA community.

According to Kathleen Barkley, a mother of two elementary students who attend PACA, the International Festival was a fun experience and a chance for her to get to know other people in the PACA community.

“I think it was fun to see all the different cultures and backgrounds and try new things,” Barkley said.