Celadon whisked its members away in an unforgettable night of fun and celebration with “Celadon Ball: A Night in Neverland.” It occurred in Marco Polo Ortigas on the evening of April 30, starting 6:30 p.m. In the span of almost six magical hours, the participants joined in camaraderie to celebrate the highlights of the school year, to send the outgoing seniors off, and to induct the incoming Executive Board. The event was hosted by GMA News to Go segment host and beauty blogger Valerie Tan.

Outgoing Cultural Affairs Vice-President (VP) and Incoming Human Resources Associate Vice-President Jannina Ong gave a thanking message to the seniors. Outgoing Human Resources VP Isaac Cheung held a toast for them.

“Seniors, your time spent here are not in vain, the memories and relationships you have made here will be cherished and always remembered,” he said.

Ateneo Celadon Senior Send Off Video 2016 from Yssa Yu on Vimeo. Video-editing by Belrica Ma.

The senior members and Executive Board members of Celadon sat blindfolded in the center while the participants discreetly placed their hand-written messages to them.

The induction ceremonies took place, with the incoming Executive Board members pulling off dance numbers for their departments (including Top 2), with all twenty of them joining together for DNCE’s Cake By The Ocean. The outgoing members of the Executive Board gave their messages to their incoming counterparts afterwards. Outgoing President EG Dizon led the oath taking.

Celadon Ball gave awards for the following categories with the following winners:

• Top 5 Managers of the Year: Belrica Ma, Katherine Tsang, Lean Yao, Nadine Kwan Laurel, and Shannen Pua
• Most Active Members: Bernadine Falsis, Candice Tan, Clarissa Chua, Hazel Li, John Ong, Katreena Chang, Mark Yu, Matthew Tan, Peter Co, and Selena So
• Best Dressed: Joshua Cua and Katherine Tsang
• Couple of the Night: Sean Gonida and Cindy Chua
• King and Queen of the Night: John Ong and Julianne Lim

“It was an honor and a pleasure to serve the org that has given me a home in Ateneo. Seeing and hearing my LDP babies feel the same is one of the greatest rewards too. Thank you, Celadon!” said Belrica Ma, HR Project Head of the Leadership Development Program.

“Receiving the award that night made me extremely happy knowing that I had been a great help to Celadon. However, receiving an award or not, I believe that my real reward lies on the smiles of my fellow Celadonians which I truly aim and work hard for,” said freshman Matthew Tan.

The King and Queen of the Night were asked about the best part of the event.

“Probably the games? I’m not from Ateneo, and I didn’t join any of the games. It seemed really fun just watching from afar. Seeing the people play really shows the relationships that were formed within the organization and the bond created during the school year,” says Julianne Lim.

As for John Ong, “I’d go with the games as well. As the host of the games, I saw how the members and our guests were able to be comfortable around weird yet fun activities. I originally expected people to be hesitant in participating but as the night progressed, it seemed like everyone, the participants and the ones watching, were really enjoying [them].”

Forever Fugitives performed. A band consisting of Andre Tan, Carlo Tong, and Rika Ueno also joined in the performances. Gary Galang served as the DJ for the event.

Event sponsors included Bacardi Limited, Henry’s Professional, Cuccio Naturalé, Parfois, Contact Live Photography, and Hope Adhesive Paper Products, Inc. Hawk Bags were raffled at the end of the event.

Bacardi provided the free-flowing alcoholic drinks. A contest in Twitter was also held wherein questions like “If Bacardi could talk, what would it say?” were to be answered with a tweet and #NotAPartyWithoutBacardi.

On the best part of the project, co-project head Justin Mivan Ong said, “[It] was really working with my co-managers and the core team. They made the whole journey worth it! Sometimes, when I would feel down about our money problems, I could always rely on my two managers to help out in any way that they can! The core team, as well, has been a bright spot for this project, and we have so many freshies in the team pa. It makes me feel happy to see so many of us so dedicated sa project, even though the tasks were really hard and challenging. Leading this team may not always be easy, but the whole team made it a worthwhile experience.”

On the hardest part of the project, co-project head Beatrix Santiago quotes, “Since we wanted to bring Celaball into greater and bigger heights this year for Celadon’s 30th anniversary, we decided to hold it in Marco Polo. You can just imagine how much that costs. That was really the biggest challenge for us to overcome. It was really hard to raise a lot of money, [and] we only had about 4 months to do so. We decided to go all out on bake sales—crinkles, cornicks, donuts—we went with anything we thought was lucrative.”

On the best part of leading the project, co-project head Shanelle Yu said, “Best part of leading this project? Being able to pull off THE BEST BALL EVER!!! The kilig-happiness you get when ticking off every item on our success indicators list makes the experience so fulfilling. Somehow, throughout all those reassuring ‘kaya pa natin guys’ from my co-managers, and the laughter-filled GA’s and IC’s with our core-team-turned-family, we witnessed how the ideas we dreamt and laid in blueprint slowly transformed into life, as magnificent as the magic of pixie dusts!”

At the end of the event, the new President Stephanie Sayson quotes, “Emotional yet exhilarating at the same time—the Celadon Ball was undoubtedly the best way to celebrate the closing of this year and welcoming a new one. I’m really excited for Celadon’s 31st [year] as we, the EB, envision to bring the org to greater heights!”

Written by Joshua Cheng
Photography by Mark Yu, Quimbe Dy, and Sean Lee
Featured image by Sean Lee