Last year, you may have noticed something missing in mid November (besides the snow …). Last November, the Silverthorne Pavilion and Summit School District postponed the annual Celebrations Around the World to restructure it.

“We wanted to take some time to coordinate with the school district to ensure the program fit within the schools’ current culture curriculum,” said Christine Mahorney, pavilion coordinator for the Town of Silverthorne.

Though the public won’t see any changes – externally, the event will look the same, with booths staffed by people representing various cultures – the actual learning portion of the program has improved.

To begin with, the field trip has been planned into the school calendar, unlike previous years, helping to assure more fourth and fifth graders can attend.

During the day, volunteers host booths to teach students about clothing, customs, currency, food and other aspects of the represented culture. This year, volunteers present goods from Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Japan and Nepal. Mahorney tried to coordinate with residents from West Africa, but she wasn’t able to find anyone whose schedule fit the day and evening time slot. However, new cultures this year include owners of the Nepalese restaurant in Silverthorne, as well as three people who are showcasing Japan; Mahorney said she believes this is the first time Eastern Asia has been portrayed at the event.

Celebrations Around the World aims to highlight various cultures that make up Summit County’s community.

“We hope students learn more from an engagement standpoint,” Mahorney said.

This year, the celebration includes a professional African drummer, based out of Colorado Springs, and musicians who will play the Japanese harp and Japanese drum (a taiko). The public is welcome to attend from 6-8 p.m. Thursday.