Article by Hannah Wagayen / Photos by Mic-mic Petilla
Welcoming Night is the first informal gathering of MEcO members. It establishes the culture and bond of the organization and dictates the impression of MEcO to its new members. This is where old and new members gather together and socialize with one another to further strengthen the familial relationship in the organization.
Welcoming night, an annual party exclusive only to the members of MEcO, was held last September 8 of this year at Xavierville Phase 3 Clubhouse. As the first social gathering after Recruitment Week, this event aims to welcome new members and introduce MEcO’s culture to them. Aside from that, this also served as the starting point of connections and relationships that bloomed between the new and old members.
Registration, which opened before 7 in the evening, became the first stop in stepping into the Las Vegas-themed venue. The room was dimly lit by string lights and adorned with red, black, and gold hanging decors, colors that were supposed to give the ambiance of the glowing city that inspired the motif of the event. Attendees were free to get food and drinks from the serving tables.
MEcOnistas posing in front of the display prepared by the production team of the event
Cory Pavia and Amira Villareal, the two hosts, broke the ice at the start of the program and kept the party lively until the end. There were 10-minute breaks in between the performances and party games, to give the attendees ample time to play and win prizes at the game booths situated around the place.
Six MEcOnistas volunteered to play the first party game led by the two hosts, in which they danced and twerked to shake off the Ping-Pong balls inside a tissue box attached to their own bodies. The game provided a lot of amusement for both the game players and the audience, resulting to echoing hoots and cheers in the confined venue.
Participants shaking off the pingpong balls
Mesh Enguerra and Bianca Doria were invited to sing in front of the attendees. Enguerra, along with Aleli Bisnar and Marco Young, her instrumentalists for different songs, set the ambiance of the party so that the attendees could relax while they socialized with each other. Doria, when it was her turn, pleased the crowd with singing hit songs and encouraged them to sing along. The audience were buzzing with energy even as the second song performance ended and was succeeded by an all-female group of dancers. Leanne Tan, Julianne Nagtalon, Cory Pavia, and Gaby Yambao caught the full attention of the audience as they danced to the music with their own moves and steps.
Mesh Enguerra for vocals
Aleli Bisnar on the ukulele
Marco Young and Mesh Enguerra performing their intermission number
The dance performance was immediately followed by the second game, which was a throwback to childhood party games. The game, called Musical Chairs with a Twist, was joined by 10 volunteers. The instructions were the same as the original game, only made unique by the twist. While marching around the ring of chairs, the players danced until the music stopped and they scrambled to sit in a chair.
The program ended with the whole party singing the Happy birthday song to one of the core team’s project heads, Javi, but this only signaled the start of the dancing and the mingling that lasted deep into the night.
