On the 20th of December, Us FMF-ers were just after an exam, (one before the last to be precise) and were looking for an opportunity to shake some of that exam stress off and dance away. ( Yes, we party even before exams are over because that’s just us ). That’s when we came across “Jingles 2019”, which was happening just around the corner, at the Colombo Racecourse Car Park.
The promising event was to begin at 3.00 p.m. and we were there around 4.00 p.m, just to be sure that we weren’t late for the party. While it was raining at that time, I guess all Christmas prayers were heard and the rain seized, making it possible for all to enjoy the rest of the night.
Like I said before, all we wanted to do was dance away, but when we got there, the Rotaract Club of CFPS Law School and the Rotaract Club of Colombo East really blew our expectations as we entered into a completely transformed Racecourse Car Park, which instantly made us feel all Christmas-y.
I was reminded of a specific part of the song “Jingle Bell Rock”.
“What a bright time, it’s the right time
To rock the night away”
Now here’s a breakdown of why I was reminded of these lyrics:
“What a bright time”: The venue was bright and lit, both literally and figuratively. Literally, because it felt like we were walking in twinkle town and figuratively, well, because it truly was a lit event
“It’s the right time”: While it’s the right time at any time for us FMF-ers to rock away, the event was filled with Interactors, who perhaps were just done with their O/Ls or were on school holidays. Given that it was the holiday season, but not too late into December when everyone gets busy, the timing was just perfect.
“To rock the night away”: Let’s just say that the on stage performances of the night did that for us. The audience engaging performances demanded us to jump up and dance off.
Jingles was certainly more than all that. There were a bunch of stalls including food stalls, a mehendi stall, itsy bitsy crafts stalls and much more. However, one stall that made the night a little bit more interesting for us to watch and literally steaming hot for the participants, was the “Arthur’s Pizzeria” stall. Arthur’s Pizzeria opened up a “Spicy Pizza Challenge”, in which five participants were given the opportunity to finish an extremely spicy pizza within 5 minutes. Oh boy, watching the participant attempting the challenge made me feel all that spice. Kudos to the brave tongued! Amid the loud cheers, there was a winner who walked away with two free Pizzas.
The rest of the night was made by some amazing guest performances from performers such as Magic Box, Watalappan, Ishini Fonseka, Blaze, Neurons and a bunch of open mic performances. The night ended with everyone jingling around for the DJ by DJ Shylow.
All in all, we enjoyed and had loads of fun at Jingles 2019, but were highly impressed by three aspects:
1. The Organizing: From marketing the event, the point of entrance to everything inside,Jingles 2019 was certainly a well-organized event. Kudos to the Rotaract club of CFPS Law School and the Rotaract club of Colombo East for pulling it off successfully for the 4th consecutive time.
2. The Crowd: The crowd that flowed in throughout the night was certainly A LOT. At one point, we took a stroll from the car park ( which is at the end of the Racecourse Complex ) to McDonalds ( which is at the beginning of the Complex ) and noticed hundreds of youngsters strolling around who was there for Jingles 2019
3. Finally, the Fashionistas: Now this is something that really made our jaws drop. The outstanding fashion sense of mostly the young girls who were there certainly made us a) question our sense of fashion and b) made us realized that we were getting old!
On that note, Congratulations to the organizing clubs for lifting our Christmas spirits. May Jingles spread the joy of Christmas in years to come!
Written By:
Rtr. Aamina Ismail
( Co-Editor – 2019/20 )
