On Tuesday, October 6th, South’s French Club hosted their first event for the year as a Renaissance Fair to encourage more students to get involved in the club. This unique event took place in South Forsyth’s plaza and hosted about 30 people. The event started with an enthusiastic speech from the club’s president, Luiza Parodia. and throughout the fair, the officers rushed around hyping up the attendees to the beat of popular French music. 

“We had a lot of people show up, more than I was expecting,” said Parodia.

The fair offered a wide variety of activities. The pool noodle jousting attracted attention and created an all-out display of fascinating swordsmanship. Other attendees migrated towards different attractions such as the ring toss made of reused cardboard or the challenging spike ball game. The table filled with chips, cookies, and M&M’s attracted a lot of attention as well. Although enjoyable, games weren’t the only activities at the Renaissance Fair. The fair also hosted a raffle and a drawing contest. At the end of the fair, the officers conducted a trivia four corners game where they called out trivia questions on the French Renaissance and made each corner a different multiple choice answer. The attendees would go to a corner based on what they thought the answer was and those who went to the wrong corners were out. Each activity allowed the attendees to earn prizes such as homework passes, extra test points, candy, and macaron erasers.

The French club made sure to take into account the global pandemic that’s occurring by implementing safety measures. The attendees wore masks and all of the food was store-bought and pre-packaged. None of the club’s officers touched the food beforehand, increasing the number of safety precautions. Even with these measures, the pandemic prevented many online students from coming. To remedy this, the club included an option for virtual students. They uploaded a French Renaissance trivia Kahoot for the students to play, which was the same Kahoot in-person attendees played.

“We hope once everything gets better, more people will show up to our events,” voiced Luiza Parodia. 

The Renaissance Fair brought attention to the French club and spread awareness of the club. Bringing together both French speakers and non-French speakers, it served as a reminder that although clubs may seem exclusive, their sole purpose is to unite people who enjoy similar things.

“We’re just trying to show that you don’t actually have to be in French class to be in French club,” said one of the club’s vice presidents, Sashu Machani, and the fair succeeded in its goal. The fairgoers that weren’t a part of the French Club participated just as much as those who take French at South. 

“I’m having a great time!” says Junior Ashna Kasireddy, one of the attendees who doesn’t take French.

Although the pandemic and lack of student knowledge about the French club serve as hindrances for the club’s growth, the officers are optimistic that they can expand the club and spread French culture.

“We’re really trying to focus on bringing French culture to our little tiny place in Northern Georgia” explained Machani.

The officers hope to create an appreciation for French culture among the students at South and encourage them to participate in French club events. They’re working hard to bring awareness and enthusiasm to the club through social media and word of mouth. The Renaissance Fair was only the beginning. In the future, the officers plan to have large events with authentic French food. In the meantime, the renaissance fair served as a great introduction for more events to come.