There are two very different projects taking shape this year, courtesy of the America 250 project, a joint endeavor between the City of Iola, Allen Community College and USD 257.
The first, a World Food Fair, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 24 at the ACC campus.
The second project, at Iola High School, takes a more utilitarian approach.
Crews will do some modest, yet badly needed, improvements to the high school locker rooms, while also adding personal hygiene supplies for students in need.
The common thread between both projects?
Both were dreamt up and now facilitated by the students, who spoke with the Register about their ongoing projects.
SHANIA CHARLES, Student Council president at ACC, spoke about the food fair.
Seventeen of the college’s international students will prepare a number of delicacies native to their homelands, coming from as far away as New Zealand, Spain, the Democratic Republic of Congo and across South America and the Caribbean.
The event will be held outside the Student Center, unless weather conditions force it indoors to the ACC cafeteria.
The plan is to serve up to 200, so bring your friends.
The impetus came from a student conversation hosted last fall by Thrive Allen County, the other common thread, where one of the primary themes was the students’ desire to foster stronger connections to Iola and Allen County.
And they’ve tried plenty of American fare, she laughed.
“We get the hotdogs, the hamburgers, the meat loaf,” Charles said.
The food fair allows those transplants to give back.
If you haven’t tried an ice lollie from St. Lucia or pavlova from New Zealand — and both are highly recommended — now’s your chance. “I’m really excited to try an empañada,” Charles said.
Charles considers herself fortunate because of the bonds she’s formed since arriving from her native St. Lucia in the fall of 2024.
THE FOOD fair was little more than a discussion point, however, until Iola City Councilman Jon Wells, a history and political science instructor at the college, came up with an idea to tie into America 250.
