Queens’ cultural diversity was on display Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital’s International Night celebration that included homemade cuisines and a show of vibrant traditional costumes.
The annual event, held in the lobby and cafeteria of the hospital, featured hospital staff walking a red carpet dressed in traditional attire of their native countries such as Romania, India, the Philippines, Haiti, Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Poland.
LIJ Forest Hills International Night started in 2015 as a way to include night shift workers who felt left out of celebrations held at the hospital during the day. The event was originally going to be a Thanksgiving potluck dinner but was changed to recognize all of the cultures represented by hospital employees who call America home.
LIJ Forest Hills, located at 102-01 66th Rd., serves a community that is very much an immigrant story where 164 languages and dialects are spoken.
“As a first-generation American born in St. Albans to Jamaican immigrant parents, this International Night celebration is dear to my heart,” said LIJ Forest Hills Hospital Executive Director Lorraine Chambers Lewis. “So many of our hospital staff share a similar story to mine and this multicultural tapestry is what Queens is all about.”
