On Saturday, August 24, WCA’s French Club, led by Morgan Koetting, senior, made their first public outing, going to the Festival of Nations held in Tower Grove Park. A St. Louis annual event since 1920, the Festival of Nations celebrates a variety of cultures from around the world.  Oddly enough, however, one of the noticeably lacking features of the festival was a tribute to the French culture.

Yet, that did not deter the club members from participating in the festival.  A number of the girls sampled food from the Israeli booths, sinking their teeth into a falafel pita.

“The falafel was surprisingly good; I didn’t know how the chickpea patty would taste, but it was very similar to meat, not spicy at all, very flavorful,” said Catherine Bakewell, senior.

Afterwards, Bakewell sampled a Grecian treat, baklava. However, the chocolate added to the baklava was a Bulgarian spin on the traditional dessert.

“The baklava is like someone rolled up a chocolate chip pancake and a rice krispy and dunked it in chocolate syrup. Warm, sugary, tasty. Delicious!” said Bakewell.

To accompany their foreign lunch, three members purchased whole coconuts from a Thai booth. Complete with a paper umbrella, spoon, and straw, the girls sipped coconut water from their coconuts, and once they were finished, scraped out the soft, white meat of the coconut to eat.

“The coconut tastes like sweetened milk. The taste was really unique. I liked it at first, but it kind of got old quickly. I’m glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn’t get it again next time, I’d try something else!” said Kirsten Caplinger, junior.

Afterwards, the girls shopped at the world bazaar that had several booths selling goods from other countries.  Among those goods were Zimbabwean tribal masks, Russian nesting dolls, and Greek olive oil.

Though there was no French booth, the girls appreciated getting to partake in some of the cultures represented.

“My favorite part was saying ‘Shalom’ to the ladies at the Israel booth who made my falafel!” said Bakewell.

Other features of the festival were an international petting zoo, dance classes, and musical performances throughout the day.