The Mandela Room transformed into a dazzling wonderland on Friday, April 12, as the Caribbean Student Association (CSA) hosted its highly anticipated annual Culture Night Banquet.

The doors opened around 7 p.m. as members of the association bustled around to set up. Vibrant hues of purple and indigo swept the venue, and round tables dotted the room with a white satin cloth draped over them. Elegant vases of flowers stood on the tables atop a stack of books centered around “Alice in Wonderland.” A towering rack of bite-sized sandwiches for refreshments sat on each table as the DJs blasted a mix of upbeat Caribbean music in the background. Ushers welcomed a lively turnout after 8 p.m., where attendees entered after flashing their tickets for admittance.

Samar Cuff, president for CSA and a sophomore double-majoring in psychology and global public health, delved into how the theme for the Culture Night came to be.

“[The theme] co-activities coordinated, and [the coordinators] came up to us,” Cuff said. “They were like, ‘hey, what if we did something like a secret garden tea party? Hey, what if it’s Alice in Wonderland?’ And then we just combined it together. We all kind of came up with it as an E-Board, but [they] did come up with the idea of a little tea party theme.”

The event commenced with a speech by two E-Board members of the association, welcoming everyone to the banquet and promising a night of celebration of music, food and dances. Following the speech, Endless Vibrations — a trio of drummers from New York City — delivered a short performance, and were received with a resounding round of applause.

Ashley Marmolejos, activities coordinator for CSA and a junior majoring in nursing, spoke on what Culture Night meant to CSA members.

“The purpose [of the Culture Night Banquet] is to definitely broadcast our culture and what the Caribbean means to us [and] to different students on campus,” Marmolejos said. “I believe it’s super important for us to bring diversity and bring culture to our campus, where sometimes it lacks that. The purpose is to show how much we love our islands.”

Marmolejos mentioned that preparing for Culture Night involved addressing all the challenges that arose in E-Board meetings, such as deciding on the performances and spreading the word on what the event is really about.

When asked how the costumes for the event were chosen, Marmelejos elaborated on how the dresses were chosen based on the theme of “Alice in Wonderland.”

“We are an all-girl E-Board, so baby blue fits right in,” Marmolejos said. “We’re all kind of Alice in here, and interns wore white, which coordinated really well with our baby blue.”

The Culture Night continued late into the night, with Alice in Wonderland-themed awards given to members of the association, followed by a vocal performance by one of the organization’s interns. A brief intermission followed the activities, where attendees dined on various Caribbean dishes, after which festivities continued with a game of musical chairs. More awards were given out post-intermission, such as The King and Queen of Hearts, after which E-Board shoutouts were given as they went on stage to take pictures. Interns were invited on stage as well, and the E-Board members for the following academic year were announced.

Alyssa Soto, a sophomore majoring in psychology, voiced how much CSA means to her.

“I love this organization because it just feels like family,” Soto said. “Since I’m Caribbean, I didn’t grow up with a lot of people who had the same experiences as me […] so this is just a way for me to connect to my roots and have people that are feeling the same way as I am.”

Having been part of CSA since her freshman year, Soto explained how much she learned about her culture through the organization.

“I’ve learned a lot more about the different types of food across the Caribbean,” Soto said. “Whether it be from my own native country or other countries in the Caribbean, different music types, styles of dancing or just traditions and folklores of other countries.”

Jordanne Gibson, activities coordinator for CSA and a junior majoring in psychology, shared Soto’s sentiment about the CSA and added her anticipations for the Culture Night Banquet.

“I’m looking forward to just seeing people enjoy the space because the whole goal is to share our culture with everybody and put a creative spin on it like Wonderland because the Caribbean is a wonderland,” Gibson said.