Festival of Nations a Hit at Marco Island Academy

Somewhere along the way, the Festival of Nations celebration at Marco Island Academy has become the biggest thing on the school schedule.

"I actually believe it has,” said Lori Galiana, a social studies teacher at the school. "I've had many, many kids and teachers say this is my favorite thing that we do all year long. I can't wait for the Festival of Nations.”

The scene Friday was one of joy with students, parents and educators letting off steam and enjoying some delicious food. The food tables almost circled the entire gym. The festival started in Galiana’s classroom years ago.

“Back in the old days,” Galiana said, "we had two tables on the deck. People would just go up and eat. We added entertainment. We had a couple acts, but it wasn't much.”

Nowadays the Festival of Nations is a pretty big deal at the school. Everybody gets involved.

“Parents, grandparents and kids do the cooking,” Galiana said. "A lot of kids are doing it themselves. The girls soccer team had to go home after the game and cook. But they do it. They figure it out.”

Near the end of the event, science teacher Brandon Swope got the students going when he sang a Taylor Swift song. 

“You saw what happened,” Galiana said, “when Mr. Swope started singing Taylor Swift. They can't wait for the line dancing part at the end. When the Macarena comes on it's a crowd join in. They stormed the floor. The stands just emptied. We call it celebrating our family. And now it's just turned into this huge thing. We had almost an hour's worth of entertainment and we needed another half an hour to truly do it right."