Entertainment Show

When you read entertainment show you think, well ,that could be anything. That was exactly what it was. So it all started with an idea my PACT (Peer Approach to Counselling Teens) club came up with for a fund raiser. They said, ‘Hey lets have an entertainment show. We could have singing, dancing, a fashion show and an eating competition.” These are some ambitious kids. So I put together some program plan ideas and then put pairs of PACT members together to be in charge of the different aspects of each act in the entertainment show. I’m not sure if I was unclear, the language or the kids just thought I was going to do everything, but nothing happened. So the next meeting, I brought contracts that each member pair had to fill, stating that everything was in order for their part of the event and then sign it. I handed them out and that was the last time I saw them. Hmm.

At this point the show date was a week away and the general feeling was that I was the one who was going to make this happen or it would never happen. These kids are still young and had probably never been put in charge of an event. So in one hand I had, just let it fail and teach them the lesson of preparation and follow through, or, to just swallow my pride and tie up the loose ends and get this show on the production line. I chose the latter and got things in order for the benefit of the kids.

I had the kids spread the word about the show, make posters and tell the participants that we would hold practice the two days prior to the event. Things started coming together at the first practice. We had a hand full of kids for each event that needed practicing like the fashion show, dancing and singing. The PACT pairs took charge of their groups and organized the routines, times, and the judging. My imitation of a fashion show gave them great ideas of how the runway walk would go.J We made a stage, hired a teacher for our DJ and scrambled to get everything in order before the doors opened at 6pm.

It was like a real event. Everything came together in the main hall. The stage was built, tables were propped against windows to prevent free onlookers, and the DJ was hooked up. We had extra PACT members stationed at the single entrance door and the broken windows to prevent sneak ins. Doors opened at 6:30pm, the most on time program start I have been a part of. All participants got in for free and were given a school stamp on their arm. (I swiped it off a teaches desk and promptly returned it after) It cost 1P per person to enter ($0.15). We organized an assembly line; one guy letting people in, a money taker, and a capturer who raised the students sleeve and I stamped them. By the time the line had run dry we had made over 300P. The place was packed when it started. I made a schedule for the event and I was amazed by how the PACT members truly stepped up at the show. They started by introducing themselves, the PACT club and others that were in charge. Because it’s a boarding school the students spend their time wondering the grounds doing a lot of nothing so the energy at the entertainment show was electric. You could hardly hear at the start.

Music played and the fashion show began. The participants walk out together in their fanciest outfits, turned around and strutted their stuff. They changed and came out individually doing their special walk in less formal cloths. Then they changed again (all changing was done in a corner behind two tables standing on end) and all come out together for a final walk about. The music died down and it was time for judging. I did it in a way that the crowd was the judge. Each one stepped forward and was judged by the cheering volume of the crowd. We narrowed it down to 3 and choose a winner. We had prizes for 1^st and 2^nd only. For each event we gave some type of dish, ceramic mug, or mirror for first and candy for second.

Next was a bold individual girl who sang her lungs out to a song she knew by heart without any music. It was all in Setswana so I’m not clear on the content but I think I understood it to be a gospel hymn. She obviously won first place and everyone cheered.

My favourite, dancing, was next and it had a lot of participants. More than 8 different groups danced some alone and some with 2 and 3 members. Some even dressed alike. They favoured the song Waka Waka by Shakira, great tune. These kids can boogie for sure. I captured some great video. Katie and I were both blown away by the skill of these participants. The dancing here is 90% below the waste with quick feet and bowing of the knees. The guy who won did the robot and a perfect moon walk. It was actually hard to pick the top 3 because everyone was so good.

Then another bold individual boy read a poem he had written. I was sad because the microphone went out part way through his poem and he had to shout over people to finish. None the less a job well done. I wish I knew the language better, I might have had more to say on the poem.

Last but not least was the food eating competition. I limited the participants to 5 so that we had enough food for everyone. We had the kitchen staff cook a jumbo package of spaghetti and I had bought a bag of apples. We dished each plate with a towering pile of spaghetti, cold but cooked, and topped it with two green apples. The rules were simple; the first one done was the winner. The crowd swarmed the stage to get a better view when we blew the start whistle. It was deafening in there with everyone cheering. The boys tried so hard but some of them, I could tell, just knew that they couldn’t win and decided to just enjoy the food. The boy who won however ate like an animal from beginning to end.

By the time we declared the winner it was late and the deputy school head had shown up and relayed to me that it was time to wrap it up. I saw it as a total success and so did those of my PACT club. Now they can see what it takes to pull off a successful event. I’m proud of those kids.