Students from Centre Wellington District High School are inviting the community to the Elora Centre for the Arts on May 30 for two events.
The program is called Sustainable Future, and the environmental club at the school is holding an Awareness Fair that will showcase local businesses with environmental rights involvement.
Sarah Hennikenn said the environmental club at the school is a small one, but the Amnesty International Club has over two dozen members and will be hosting a hunger banquet at the centre after the Awareness Fair.
The fair will run in the yard throughout the day and include world music and a drumming circle, children’s activities, and an aroma therapist.
Hennikenn said the idea of the Hunger Banquet put on by Nishin Nathwani and the Amnesty International club he leads is to show the connections between the environment and human rights
The Hunger Banquet begins at the end of the day and is designed to show people the situation with food around the world. At that banquet, adults will pay $12, students $10, and a family of four pays $30. Children under 5 are free.
But when diners buy their tickets, they do not know just how well they will dine at the Hunger Banquet, Hennikenn said. Some will get first world tickets, and will dine very well – although there are very few of those.
Those who draw tickets from the second world will dine much better than the majority, which will have minimal food. The numbers are proportional with the hunger situation around the world.
Hennikenn said the club puts on the hunger banquet every year.
She added that because of the promotions in the area on local food, this year, “Everybody gets the same main course. The first class get extras – salad and dessert.”
She noted that seating will also be arranged for the three “classes,” with the first dining at a table with chairs, second sitting on chairs only, and third world representatives sitting on the ground.
Diners are asked to bring their own cutlery, plates, and cups.
Hennikenn said the idea is to show the link between human rights and the environment, and “how to make a difference locally.”
She added that people can also learn about the fair trade movement and how it relates to the community.
The Awareness Fair is free, and the banquet has a fee.
Tickets are available at Roxanne’s Reflections Book and Card Shop in Fergus, Sante, in Elora, and the Elora Public School.
“It’s a community gathering for awareness and inspiration – and at the same time, people should come,” Hennikenn said.
Anyone seeking more information about the event can call her at 519-787-0461.
