Paris has been acclaimed as the city of love, and this past Friday a number of lucky people were able to enjoy it’s atmosphere from the comfort of our hometown. Holly Winget’s and Nicollette Hernke’s Humanities class all recreated a Parisian atmosphere in the atrium of the high school, in order to raise money for their trip to Europe. The students, who range from sophomores to seniors, have been selling tickets since the end of December, and spent the majority of last week setting up the dinner itself, including making the appetizers and desserts, and picking up and returning the decorations. Each sold tickets to family, friends, and other residents in Cannon Falls, and in return they acted as servers for the attendees as they were whisked “away” from home.

This was the first time working the dinner for many of the students, and for everyone it was a chance to learn something new. Junior Lily French had a large group of people in attendance to serve, “so it was kind of like a brand new experience,” which was a sentiment shared by others.  Serving friends and family wasn’t the only work they did that was new, however. Mrs. Winget reported that, “The students were responsible for the day before for going out to Midwest and getting the decorations, and then returning them on Monday… they also helped make the appetizers and desserts, which happened about three days before the dinner.”

The main focus of the dinner, however, was not simply providing delicious food and a romantic atmosphere. Rather the point was to fundraise for the trip the humanities class takes every other summer to Europe in order to see the art up close, such as the Mona Lisa or one of the many Greek Statues, that they had studied throughout the school year. Their efforts are typically successful, and this year is expected to be no different, as Mrs. Hernke adds up the total profit from the dinner. Hopefully their work proves to be fruitful, and they can have a chance to go to the real City of Love, and more.