COEUR d'ALENE - The merry sound of marimbas greeted visitors Saturday the moment they entered the gym of Lakes Magnet Middle School.

The bright colors of many cultures emanated from the booths and tables as guests tasted ethnic foods, received henna paintings on their arms or made beaded bracelets honoring their ancestral heritage during the school's sixth annual Multicultural Faire.

"Where are you from?" Lakes eighth-grader Faith Gorkhali, 14, asked people who stopped at her table, which was covered in flag charts. She encouraged guests to customize a bracelet and proudly wear the colors of their familial history.

"We all need to know where we're from," said Faith, who is part Nepalese. "Yeah, we know we're human, but where are we from? If you don't know where you're from, how are you supposed to know your background and your family?"

A multitude of countries and cultures were represented at the event, ranging from New Zealand and Norway to East India and Canada. PFLAG (formerly Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Coeur d'Alene made its event debut and the Lakes Human Rights Club and the art department, Coeur d'Fleur de Art, had colorful exhibits as well.

Lupe Rice of Coeur d'Alene is originally from Lima, Peru. She wore a traditional alpaca wool poncho and hat as she presented the bright Peruvian culture through informational material, artifacts, photos and more. She teaches Spanish at Lakes and Canfield middle schools.

"We have interesting stories and we want to share it with them, the language and the culture, the festivities and the family values that we have," she said. "Many people in Idaho don't have exposure to these other cultures, and we need to share and spread the word. I had some students who didn't know where Peru was located and that's why I think it is truly important to see beyond and open up our horizons."

She referred to how technology has created a global economy and how it is beneficial for students to understand other languages and celebrate other cultures.

"Exchange students from all over the world come here, and they need to be accepted and appreciated, too," Rice said.

Multicultural Faire coordinator and sixth-grade teacher Kristen Odenthal estimated between 800 and 1,000 people attended the event throughout the day.

"Bringing a community together is important to learn how to be respectful to others, to have differences, to have different cultures, but also it's just learning about how to appreciate differences more than anything," she said. "We're having so much on anti-bullying, and I feel like the stem is learning how to be more compassionate to others and more empathetic to other people just in general. It can start with just learning about other people's heritages."