Hola Lakeway celebrated its 12th anniversary last week and the international center filled the night with an open house featuring student artwork, a bilingual theater performance and the unveiling of a new logo that centers around hope, culture and identity.

Opening the festivities was a micro- theater performance put on by students at the center. “Deep Ocean Chronicles: Journeys, Memories and Migration” let the children show off their theater chops while presenting a story about migration and belonging, themes that would tie the various presentations of the night together.

“Every class, every program, every project we offer brings hope and new opportunities to the families that we serve,” Hola Executive Director Betsy Hurst said. “Tonight, you will see the beautiful work of our students and families through this art exhibition, our book launch, and our special presentations. Thank you for joining us and for believing in our mission. Tonight, we celebrate what we have built together, and all is still ahead of Hola Lakeway.” The theater performance told the story of sea turtle Freddy and his family as they must move suddenly to another country.

Using the ocean imagery to tell the story of a migrant family’s struggle, the story showed the way Freddy experienced loss and how friendship and common ground can help heal; the ways in which inclusion and belonging can be offered were explored.

Filling the common rooms of Hola Lakeway were works of art for a visual arts exhibition called “Traces of Color, Letters on the Heart.”

The exhibition included drawings, paintings and sculptures, focused on the marine world and crafted to tell imaginative stories.

In addition to artwork by students, there was a special book presentation by the students. Two stories were created, one by younger students and one by older, and included in a hard-bound book that has been published and includes illustrations.

Also ocean-themed, an introduction said readers would “discover the footprints f a profound creative process: from the majesty of legendary monsters to the tenderness of the fantastic characters that inhabit the pagees of the book we share with the world today.”

Between the book, the theater presentation and the rich art exhibit, it was clear the students and staff at Hola Lakeway had poured themselves into the night’s work.

“When you write a project, you often do not realize how big it will become until you see it come to life,” Hurst said. “This project was made from love, from every small detail to the beautiful exhibition you are about to enjoy.”

At the end of remarks for the evening, a new logo for Hola Lakeway was revealed. Using a rich blue color and incorporating the center’s use of the Sankofa bird, the logo symbolizes trust, stability, a strong presence in the community, continual improvement and transformation.

One of Hola’s founders, Willie Santana, described the logo: “Our logo features the Sankofa bird within a circle, reminding us of the importance of learning from our past as we continue moving forward into the future.”