MAXIMUM EXCITEMENT = LUMOS MAXIMA!

It's amazing, really, what a group of kids can do when they come together. Even more so, when the results exceed all expectations. This year in 2011, Santa Laurensia came out again to host it's bi-annual event, the LAURENSIA CUP!

I feel slightly well, really guilty cuz I feel like I didn't contribute much to this cup, even though I had so much free time and wanted to help out, I just couldn't figure out how. I signed to be part of the public relations (Humas) division. My job is to announce the details of Laurensia Cup to other schools and hand out proposals for anyone willing to participate. It was a little touch and go at first, but we managed to at least fill up the minimum quota for the games.

What really sucked was that my tasks were focused up until Laurensia Cup started. Once it did, I became a mere spectator, even though I was given a "Crew" member shirt. It was like I was trying to find something to do, but everyone was already assigned to do this and that, and my offer fell on deaf ears. It also felt like I was imposing.

Enough of the ranting. Let's get on with the showcase!

The concept for this year's Laurensia Cup is pretty unique. We took on a outerspace galactic theme, naming it LUMOS MAXIMA! It stands for "Laurensians Unites in Diversity through Sports with Maximum Excitement". I love how every single detail is authentic and original. This really showed how damn creative Laurensia kids can be :)

The opening started on 5 Nov 2011, a Saturday. And I have to say, it was a bigger turn out than I expected. My dear mates, Kenny and Karina were MCs for the ceremony, and I'm proud to say they did a great job. There was a ceremonial cutting of a bouquet of balloons: red, yellow and blue floating up into the sky, a beautiful array of colors, all of them imprinted with the Lumos Maxima logo. We also saw the cheerleaders do their thang and even our local Tiger mascot shuffle :D

The match was a thrill to watch. Especially the girls' mini soccer! The Laurensia uniforms, I absolutely adoreee. Cute and spunky with it's combo of dark grey and pink, it stands out! They also played well, and ended up with first place! Basketball, was intense. Girls managed to get second, falling just a little by Pahoa, another school. A lot of people say that it's the girls golden age. The boy's were unable to grab victory this time around, but hey, that's okay! All in the spirit of sportmanship!

VOLLEYBALL! That was the most amazing sports to watch. So much on-the-edge-of-your-seat action. Only the high-schoolers had volleyball, and unfortunately the junior high didn't, mainly because we couldn't form a team in time. Like, I've said before, VOLLEY is something that is lighting my heart's fire, and hopefully I'll get better as I pursue this sport.

The bazaar and food available this time around, I think was more ranged. There was Chatime, Kebabs, a takoyaki stand, Hop Hop (those bubble drinks) and even Crepes. The merchandise the bazaar team came up was amazing, too. All the Lumos Maxima cups, Hand-clappers to cheer the teams, keychains and shirts were all well-designed.

The week went by in a flash. All of those preparations, and cutting classes in the afternoon to supervise the Cup and being given free time to watch the games. It was paradise, a whole week of going to school with minimum studying and maximum FUN! It was a little bittersweet to seeing it come to an end.

It's 12-11-11. A Saturday, a full week since the beginning of Lumos Maxima. There's this sense of things coming around full circle. The final rounds were played that morning, the winners made clear. And soon, 5.30 pm came, and the gym was starting to fill up with an eager audience. The decorations for the closing, were SUPERB. They gym was completely transformed into a out-of-this-world space ship. Outside of the entrace were a few food stands, and once you handed in your ticket and got a Lumos Maxima stamp on your hands, you went into this tunnel, that branched out to both sides.

If you followed the tunnel left, you would step inside the interior of a silver-lined spaceship. To you're right, you meet the brown-rocky terrain of a planet unknown. It was cool inside, the blast of the air-conditioners they put up on full-power. The walls of the gym inside were lined with dark cloth, representing the blackness of space. In the dance room over head, the windows overlooking the gym were covered with boards, lined with little lights that were shaped to form the writing 'Lumos Maxima'. Life-size models of the mascots, Terra, Myu, Kevin, etc. Screens were displayed on both sides, projections of images throughout the show to be seen by everyone.

The show started, and the curtains to the gym stage opened. A model of MAXIMUS, the Superior One, the top mascot hung from the ceiling, next to an astronaut and some twinkling stars. The back of the stage was covered in reflecting tin-foil, giving off a real futuristic vibe. The use of smoke machines, just blanketing the stage made me think we really were on another planet.

Most of the performances were from our own school. The cheerleaders were great, doing a much more daring routine than the opening (TIGERS! GO, FIGHT, WIN!), than the bands performing top hits. From "Do Re Mi", "Stereo Love", "Jetlag", "Mistletoe", "Pumped Up Kicks" to a medley of "Sunday Morning/Chasing Pavements", the musicians got the audience on their feet, grooving, jumping and singing along. The dance numbers were well-choreographed too.

My favorite performance was SPADE <3 From costumes, to the mixed-song, the choreography was on-point and just bursting with energy. Hope I'll get to see them peform again!

After the winner's announcement, then came the main event: WHITE SHOES AND THE COUPLES COMPANY! I did hear a few of their songs before I heard they were performing at Laurensia Cup, and they are amazing! Though I did notice that weren't well-known since their music sort of requires an acquired taste.

The night was drawing to a close. The MC asked the audience to step outside to the parking lot and look up. A series of crackling (slighty ear-splitting) fireworks flew up into the sky.

And just like that, a legendary night was over.

Even though Lumos Maxima is over, the excitement lives on!

Huge thanks and kudos to everyone who helped make this all come true.

--Karin Novelia, Still Excited!

2 comments:

Smoke and Rain said...

What a crazy event. that sounds like an absolutely ridiculous time. Glad you had so much fun with it! Just stumbled upon your blog and enjoyed looking through it. Keep writing!

- Matt

Karin Novelia said...

Oh, wow, thank you so much! That means a lot to me. And yeah, I'll definitely keep on writing! :)

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