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By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Needham High French Club is presenting its annual “La Soiree de la Francophone” (French Night) on Friday, Feb. 26 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The event is free and there will be free French cuisine and performances by Needham High students highlighting different aspects of French culture.
French Night is also the club’s yearly fundraiser for WATERisLIFE, a nonprofit organization providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene programs to communities around the world.
French Club president Anna Desmarais said of the event, “I think it’s enjoyable because it is completely geared towards Needham families. We want to get the town involved in something that teaches the audience about culture and benefits our student performers who get to show off their hard work.”
Desmarais highlighted the food as being “always the crowd pleaser.” Students make dishes from francophone countries (not just France) that attendees rave about after. In addition, there will be students from grades 6-12 who will be performing poems, songs, dances, and more - all with a francophone twist.
There has been a lot of work that has gone into the event, beginning with a bake sale that the French Club held and a recruitment drive to try and get more students involved. As fellow organizer Annie Gardella noted, when she joined as a freshman there were only six students in the club, so it continues to grow.
The club also reaches out to local businesses and French cultural initiatives and organizations in the area for support and brainstorms ways to support the charity of choice, WATERisLIFE.
“We try to get the word out to our community so our impact on WATERisLIFE can be really meaningful,” said Desmarais. “WATERisLIFE is a charity that combines new, impressive technology with compassion and a very intelligent way of teaching people about water purification.”
The organization presents a video at French Night that explains their innovation, “a drinkable book,” which provides hygiene and water sanitation tools and will be distributed worldwide. According to WATERisLIFE, one book can allow a person to live for four years with clean water.
“The thought and purpose behind each item they give out is so important,” said Desmarais about WATERisLIFE. “The straws and books are useful to the communities as life savers and as educators so that even when the supplies run out, people will have a better chance at keeping their water clean.”
Desmarais added, “I love the payoff we feel on the Monday after French Night when we find out how much money we raised to help people who speak the same language that we are so interested in learning.”
French Night is also about fun and exploring the culture of francophone countries from around the world and it has been a great learning experience for Desmarais and Gardella as they try to organize this event.
“Personally I have loved this event,” said Desmarais. “It has been unbelievably stressful for both of us to lead our efforts for ‘La Soirée de la Francophone,’ but it also has taught us so much about communication within our community.”
“Between businesses, the town, and the schools, Annie and I have worked with all of them to make our event the best it can be, and in the process I have learned a lot about Needham and what it takes to be heard as a young student.”
“La Soiree de la Francophone” will be held on Feb. 26 in the Needham High auditorium. Explore French culture and support a good cause.
For more information, email annie.gardella@gmail.com or desmaraisanna@gmail.com.
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
