It had been an annual tradition for Filipinos all over Poland to come together for the Summer Grill Party. The Catholic congregation, Anthonian Institute, hosted this year’s extravaganza in Warsaw, which was attended by more than 400 participants, majority of which were Filipinos, but there were also Indians, Indonesians, Poles and other nationalities who joined in.
This year’s theme was Barrio Fiesta. The newly organized Rogate Youth International – PL headed by JayMart Regala, the religious choir, and regular patrons of Anthonian Institute volunteered to help in organizing the said event. The spirit of volunteerism was in the air, with each committee working together and coordinating with one another to ensure smooth enforcement of the plans. The planning stage started with an orientation on the evaluation of last year’s event. This gave everyone an idea on which activities to reinforce and which ones to avoid from happening again. This was followed by weekly meetings that extended till 10pm, midweek Zoom meetings, and every day planning that had become part of our routine. Just three weeks into the event, I was assigned as the head of the games committee and as the Game Master.
I came up with a list of games that we could execute during the event. The main challenge was looking for materials which would have been easily available in the Philippines, but hard to find in Poland. I had thought of sipa, piko, chinese garter, palo sebo, patintero, pukpok palayok, karerang sako, tinikling challenge, and trumpo.
Cash prizes were given away to games winners to attract joiners. The final list of games included Paper Dance with a Twist, The Boat Is Sinking Game with a Twist, Picture Me Pinoy Charade with a Twist, Pinoy Henyo with Gimme Five Elimination, LuzViMin Challenge, and Singing KnockOff OPM Edition. However, due to time constraints, only 3 games were implemented.
Lined up activities following the games were Bingo Social, Karaoke Challenge, and Bayle. There were lots of grilled meats that were served throughout the whole day. Registration was only 5 PLN (75 PHP), food to share. Bingo cards were also sold at 5 PLN each. The prizes for Bingo Social included a 55″ television, a trip for 2 to Romania, a trip for 2 to Paris, and a trip for 2 to Madrid.
The event was officially opened with a celebration of the mass at 11am celebrated by Fr. Tirso Alcover Jr., RCJ, followed by the opening program, wherein major sponsors and the VIPs were given recognition awarded by Fr. Herbie himself. Next in the agenda was the systematic way of distributing lunch. The children, ages 12 and below, were given priority. They were led to their own dining area. After which, adult participants lined up in several food serving areas. The food committee and the grilling team worked hand in hand to make sure there were enough food for everyone for the entire day. Serving time was scheduled as well.
The Philippine Embassy in Poland, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in Prague, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) also joined in and offered passporting and contract verification services. and provided legal advice on EU immigration.
There was also a bazaar with 14 booths selling various products such as Pinoy snacks, Pinoy deserts, undergarments, skin care, Pinoy handicraft, drinks, used clothes, among others.
Several sacks of rice, t-shirts, bottles of wine, Savoy Hotel (in Manila) overnight stay, culinary course scholarships (in Manila) were given away as raffle draw winners (from the registered participants).
Nevertheless, the participants had fun, as seen in the videos and photos shared by the participants themselves. The event started as early as 8am for the registration, and ended around 8pm. Bayle and karaoke challenge no longer pushed through because of lack of time, but the joy and happiness in each participant’s face were overflowing.
It was a very rewarding, humbling, and grounding experience. I thank Papa God for the opportunity to serve and be part of this community.
Louella Papa Virtual Services 