Annual Roman Banquet Offers Food and Fun

(March 13, 2008) The Riverhead Middle School Cafetorium annually goes through a metamorphosis into a spectacle of Roman splendor as the seventh and eighth grade Latinists host the annual Roman Banquet.  With the Riverhead Latin program currently enjoying an era of unprecedented popularity and high enrollments, the annual Roman Banquet, which is always a highlight of the year, was bigger and better than ever.

The gargantuan feast satisfies the appetites of the nearly three hundred parents, friends, teachers, administrators, and special guests who gathered to celebrate this venerable Riverhead tradition which stretches back for decades.

This banquet features a theatrical centerpiece--the play, written by an eighth grader and featuring a cast of several dozen middle school Latin students.  Clad in various outlandish costumes, the students present an outrageous retelling of Greek mythology to the delight of the very supportive crowd.This year's offering was "The Tale of Achilles" (see Achilles above and right) written by John "Odysseus Tyrannus" Rios.

As for the feasting, there is a seemingly endless train of dishes served by the students, all prepared by the families of the Latin students, and more than enough in quantity and variety to satisfy the appetites of every banqueter in attendance.

The Mappa Splendida contest is always a hit, with a large field of fancy, decorated cloth napkins in the competition.  (In the days before Tupperware and Ziplock bags, the Romans used large, often beautiful napkins - mappas, in Latin - as "doggie bags" after their banquets.) 

The entire event is presided over by Magistra Lorene Custer, the RMS Latin teacher, who undertakes this Herculean effort every year. 

This year "The Tale of Achilles" also had a road show. The talented Latinists travelled to the Senior Citizen Center in Aquebogue to perform for the seniors and then joined them for lunch.

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