The International Show, one of Garneau’s largest annual traditions, took place last night in the MGCI cafeteria between 6PM and 9PM. Spearheaded by Special Events Convener Kristina Akhtari, the International Show had approximately 84 performers and staff, and 300 attendees consisting of students and a few families.

The committee had been planning since the beginning of the year, but the teachers’ strike pushed back auditions until mid-February. After a month and half of weekly rehearsals, and another week of rehearsals before the show, it turned out to be a success.

The performances were met with deafening cheers and applause. Following the show, dinner was served in the gym. The food was from a number of countries, and included fried rice, samosas, fries, salad, baklava, as well as a sizeable chocolate fountain with fruits and marshmallows.

It was noted that 10 out of the 18 acts were English songs, which caused some to wonder if it was more of a talent show than an international show. Kristina dismissed this saying, “I encouraged people to do traditional performances, but you can’t really force them to do anything. I thought there was a balance; there were a couple of each [English and traditional]. Most of the English songs were European, and the last performance used English music but had [performers] from everywhere.”

“I’ve gotten great feedback, great responses, and people liked it,” Kristina continues, “My committee worked super hard, and we’ve had our conflicts and arguments, but at the end of the day we all came through. My committee was pretty small — less than 20 people — but they each contributed in different ways, and we all depended on each other.”

“Everyone loved the show!” exclaimed Lola Wazir, one of the organizers, “They’re saying it’s the best show they’ve ever seen!”

“It was very multicultural. Overall the show was excellent and I would go again next year,” says Yansong Ke, one of the performers in the flag parade.

“I had the best time of my life,” comments Ezana Michael on the International Show Facebook event.

The show ended with acknowledgements for all the people who helped make International Show happen. Other than slight issues with the microphones during the show, the show ran smoothly overall.