A much awaited event in Celadon is the Mid-Autumn Festival, more commonly known as the Mooncake Festival. The main stars of the season remain to be the dice game and the different sizes and assortments of mooncake, which are not just a source of merriment, but also a chance to win prizes and a bonding time among the players. Rest assured, this is the one event where your luck and stomach is tested!
Celadon’s very own Mid-Autumn Festival this year was held at the Zen Garden from September 10-12, 2014. Amidst the unpredictable weather, blue-top tents adorned with silver pompoms surrounded half of the area with varying booths in each one. Huge crowds flocked to the games such as Chubby Bunny, Find the Message, Nine Suns, and especially the Giant Dice, where players throw a single, big dice into the air with the hopes of it landing on a four – thus, winning the game. The sound of the little stones grinding beneath our feet was constant. A Photo-booth captured the smiles while holding up their passports, wherein completing all six activities written on it would merit to a raffle ticket later on in the event’s culminating night.
The culminating night was just as jam-packed as the tickets were sold out the day before. Over 250 people went to Leong Roofdeck on the night of September 12 for the dice game – a record breaker in Celadon’s history. Attendees of the event arrived with great excitement and found themselves among the chatters that echo among the circular tables decked in red fabric, the prizes ranging from Lock&Lock products, Sterling notebooks, Pringles, Dorritos, Coca-Cola products, Philips earphones, and Bluetooth speakers, among others, stacked on the center.
Jason Tan and Jopi Esquivias hosted the night that began with an eating contest. A representative from each table took the challenge as they chomp on two mooncakes each from Eng Bee Tin amidst the cheers from their seatmates. Finishing first earned the winning table extra prizes for the main event: the dice game.
Dices clinked as soon as the bowls were distributed and continued all throughout as people attempted to get one out of the four combinations that merit first prize. Screams and shrieks from lucky rolls bursted in inconsistent successions. As the prizes depleted and the bags became stuffed with goodies, those who bagged the highest prizes crossed their fingers over the chance of “stealing” their prizes when other players got higher numbers. The excitement continued through an impressive performance by Raenelle Ngo, who sang a Chinese song in perfect pitch and tone, serenading the attendees as they played and ate dinner.
If luck was not on their side during the dice game, a raffle draw featured another huge array of items: from Bratpack and Ruffles backpacks to Gift Certificates from Rufo’s Katipunan. The lucky souls who coincidentally have golden dice beneath their seats also played a different game, and what was at stake – a brand, new Xiaomi Mi 3 smartphone.
Indeed, the Mid-Autumn Festival was a treat to all who attended. With the hard work of all the people involved, the generosity of the sponsors, and all the participants, this year’s became a success.
Written by Faith Ong
