Prologue

Primarily known for their immense amount of work and contribution to the community via any kind of services available, Rotaract Club of Colombo Midtown also arranged one special night for all the Rotaractors island-wide to join and enjoy a fun filled “Hopper Night.”

What is Hopper Night?

Now what was Hopper Night? A night with some hoppers to eat? Not at all, it was an evening where many Rotaractors from different clubs joined under one roof for a lot of fun,
games and yes, hoppers to eat.
With different kinds of board games to actual interesting games/activities which were rewarded with gift vouchers, Hopper Night was a night to remember.

Preparation

This is the part where we actually realize that we really don’t need any big plans for preparations; we don’t need meetings, or daily phone calls. We only need one whatsapp group and a really bold (and scary) event organizer. This is where Rtr. Dina Ali comes in, as in charge of the whole event, she made sure to include active members who would contribute and a few new faces (including myself) in order to bos-*coughs* guide us around. For the event, we mainly required a suitable place, a house preferably to conduct the event in, a cook to prepare the hoppers and other necessary  resources for the event to be a success. I am indeed not going to go in deep into every single item needed, although I would like to mention that as of when the event was about to start, we were not in short of any of the items.

I would also like to mention that, the participation of the Midtown Club President Rtr. Salman and Secretary Rtr. Miyuru, during the preparations helped us a lot in order to make this event a huge success.

The Event

So it was 25 th of November Saturday, and Hopper Night was about to kick-off. A few of the Midtown Rotaractors (including myself) were present at the venue almost 2-3 hours early in order to make sure everything was set and the event had no flaws. After double checking everything and a few final minute alterations, the event started at around 7.00pm and we had many Rotaractors from different clubs coming in.

Since the place we rented was a two floored house, a few of the early birds went up to the first floor for board games and fun group get togethers, while the others who came late mostly hung around the ground floor. Dinner as in hoppers in different varieties and a vegetable kottu for the veggies started shortly after at about 8.15ish pm. After having a good dinner including (soft) drinks and spending a really fun time with friends, a few Rotaractors started departing at around 9/9.30 just before the games and activities started.

The games and activities for the night included a fun round of charades (guessing English movies) and a dress up game using toilet papers called Mummy. Charades was suggested by a lot of Rotaractors who attended saying it would really spice up the place and Mummy was suggested by Rtr. Dina. The games were carried out by me with the help of Rtr. Vidush, and it did actually quite spice up the night and everyone involved had a great time. Well all though the game Charades didn’t actually have a reward for the winners, Mummy did and the team (of 3) which won the game got individual gift vouchers as rewards.

Even though we had a few other activities in mind for the night, time wasn’t in our favor as it was already 11ish pm and everyone present had to leave. So after a few group photos together, all the Rotaractors except for a few Midtowners left and it was time for winding up everything.

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Thus, a brief summary of how the event actually happened.

Personal View

As I speak about my personal experience of the night, it was sort of revolutionary, not in a ‘1900s Captain America leading the Avengers in 2012’ kind of way, but most likely in a ‘”I
just push some people and run away” Flash to “I saved a lot of people from a bug army”’ Flash kind of way. I know, I am bad at metaphors.

Anyways, the event gave me a responsibility which I haven’t had in the past, a good team working spirit and also planted a belief in me saying, “You want a friend, just walk up to
someone and talk.” Because that is what Rotarct has been for me so far, an open hand welcoming committee and also accepting me for whom I am. As much as Rotaract is a helping hand to the community, it is also an uplifting hand to its members and everyone who work with them. The non-egoistical characteristics from the higher members (president, secretary and event organizers) of the club towards new faces like us are really a reflection of what Rotaract is and what they stand for.
Thank You everyone for who attended the amazing, fun filled Night, and also a big cheers to everyone who helped in making this event a grand success.

 

 

 

 

P.S. Rtr. Dina is actually not a bossy person, she’s really cool. 🙂