Star-Spangled Fun
As a Fletcher staffer, there are the events I attend, the events I wish I could attend but don’t have time for, and the events that, let’s be honest, are really designed for students, not staff. That would include the Culture Nights, where students share music, dance, and other performances from their native Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean Region, and just have a great time. The newest of the Culture Nights is Americana Night, which I have asked Admissions pal and soon-to-graduate MALD student, Anna, to describe.
Fact: There are 50 states in America!
Fact: The colors of the American Flag are red, white, and blue!
Fact: Beyoncé is our greatest national treasure!
These are just three of the “facts” that students who attended this month’s Americana Night learned. I had the honor of being the co-host in both my years at Fletcher, and it is quite a night. There might not be a lot of learning going on, but there is a whole lot of fun.
Americana Night started as a Fletcher Follies sketch a few years ago — it was a tongue-in-cheek parody of all of the other (amazing) Culture Nights at Fletcher. But then some students decided they wanted to make it a real thing, so here we are!
This year, we had a truly incredible display of talent. Many different genres of American music were represented, from a bluegrass quartet singing Johnny Cash to “Fletallica,” a metal band covering some of the greatest headbangers in the canon. The fashion show theme was “America Through The Decades,” and Fletcherites strutted their stuff to hits ranging from Chubby Checker to Mariah Carey. One student performed some of Robin Williams’s greatest stand-up routines as a tribute to the comedian, while another recited original poetry that he had penned for the occasion. And, of course, there was Beyoncé. Well, a Beyoncé dance, that is — we reached out to the legend herself, but she couldn’t squeeze Americana Night into her busy schedule. Next year, Bey!
Despite the night’s star-spangled theme, students from all over the world performed in the acts. Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela, South Korea, Ghana… as with everything at Fletcher, this was a truly international gathering. We even had a nice tribute to the frozen north as our brothers and sisters from Canada sang their national anthem at the top of the show.
Hosting and organizing Americana Night was definitely the highlight of my Fletcher career. The Culture Nights as a whole represent the very best of Fletcher. We’re a group of internationally minded people who love nothing more than to get together with some good food, good spirits, and good friends, to better know the world.