Anna Jones
Writer
After several weeks of intensive planning and advertising by the Spades Committee of Activities and Campus Events (ACE), headed by Asha Harvey ’15, the committee pulled off a successful Fiesta Night in the Terrace Room on Oct. 19.
Upon walking into the room, guests were overwhelmed by the sound of festive music and the enticing smells of Mexican food, including make-your-own tacos and burritos. On the other side of the room, there was a long table filled with bowls of chips and just about every kind of salsa possible, ranging from extremely spicy to more mild. If your taste buds needed something to cool down, virgin margaritas were being served in the middle of the room. In another corner sat cinnamon covered churros with vats of chocolate for dipping. People raved about the food, which was prepared by the University’s dining staff.
One of the main events of the night was the hot pepper eating contest.
“[It] was a huge attraction for many attendees,” Harvey said.
Harvey said they wanted to “facilitate friendly competition,” and that the committee is working to make the competition even better for next year’s Fiesta Night. This year’s winner was Farhan Altaf ’15, who won a piñata full of $50 in cash and lots of candy.
Guests also had the opportunity to take part in the Mexican piñata activity. Upon entering the Terrace Room, every guest received a ticket with a number. Every 15 minutes, ACE committee members drew five numbers; whoever’s number was called got the chance to swing at the piñata three times after being blindfolded and spun around three times.
After several people beat up the piñata, it fell to the ground and there was a mad rush for the candy inside. A few pieces were labeled with bright green tags; the lucky winners of these pieces won gift cards to shops in downtown Lewisburg. One of the winners was Meghan Mahoney ’16.
“I expected that I had gotten a free Milky Way bar, but it turned out that I’d won a $10 discount at any store downtown. It was a very nice surprise!” Mahoney said.
For the more artistically inclined students, there was a table for decorating maracas and Mexican fans with markers. The Latino Dance Corner performed a dance and even gave a short lesson on the tango to students. For even more of a Mexican feel, ACE had flower pins for guests to put in their hair.
Finally, there was a “guess how many beans” contest. Students could guess how many beans were in a jar, and the closest estimate won a $30 gift certificate to El Caporal, a Mexican restaurant in Lewisburg. Patience Osei ’14 was the lucky winner of this gift certificate.
With almost 300 guests, Fiesta Night turned out to be a huge success.
“I’d say it was a success,” Harvey said. “The Latin Dance Corner turned up the heat and we had so much going on it wasn’t a surprise that people stayed the whole night.”
ACE has many more events planned for this semester, including Casino Night this weekend at the Campus Theatre and BU After Dark on Nov. 2.
“ACE activities are great ways to bring the entire community together and break down boundaries,” Harvey said.