SoPac:
This post was written by Lindsay, Calvin '11
When people ask me what is my favorite day/holiday of the year, I honestly tell them my birthday. Why? Because I do enjoy being the center of attention, and lucky for me CCSP celebrates birthdays in style. Caleb and Jess are amazing party planners and used my favorite decade (the Roaring 20's) as inspiration for my 22th birthday party and added a murder mystery twist. The dynamic duo sent party invites a few days prior to the celebration and assigned everyone a character to be at the party. My character was Birdie Fitzgerald, a successful flapper who does the best Charleston in Chi-town and is adored by all men (no joke, that is what my invite said). To make things better, Jess happened to find a blue and purple (my favorite color!) flapper dress at the local thrift store in Kaikoura!
Come the evening of the party, what used to be the dining room in the Old Convent was now a speakeasy run by Tom Gatsby (Caleb) and Debbie Buchanan (Jess) who were throwing a dinner party for me. Everyone awaited outside the doors, all in character and dressed to impress. We had a diverse group of people, from feminists to fashion designers to writers to gang members. Little did we know what the night had in store for us. After knocking on the door twice and reciting the secret password to the bouncer I entered the speakeasy, unprepared for the change in scenery. I was greeted by Caleb and Jess, errr I mean Tom and Debbie, with hugs and kisses and New Jersey/Long Island/Italian accents. I was so caught off guard I could not help but laugh! The rest of the guests funneled into the speakeasy and we conversed over drinks (non-alcoholic of course) with jazz music playing in the background. Then it was time to sit down for tea (aka dinner for you American folks back home) where the main entree was my favorite type of food: Indian. Shortly after, Debbie informed us our dear friend/foe Agatha the nun was found dead outside the speakeasy! We learned more about one another's character over tea and reported our findings to the whole group. After tea, my flapper gals and I put on a little dance show, which was unfortunately cut short due to one of the flappers being narcoleptic. Then my birthday cake arrived, a delicious fruit cake served with chocolate mousse and a pineapple truffle (my favorite desserts!) and over dessert we discussed who we thought murdered Agatha. Accusations were made, secret love affairs were revealed, and one guest was even shot, until we finally discovered the identity of the murderer. He/she/it was promptly kicked out of the speakeasy and soon after the speakeasy was turned back in to the dining room we know and love oh-so-well at the Old Convent.
All in all, it was an amazing party and I hope all you readers in the states are jealous that you could not attend. I can not get over how great everyone looked and was impressed by how well people played their characters at the party! I was woefully unprepared for everyone I had gotten to know the previous six weeks to take on a new personality. My personal favorite was our dear Kiwi cook Emma, who played a hypochondriac flapper from Alabama. And Caleb and Jess's accents cracked me up. I could not stop laughing the entire night. This was sadly my last birthday party in college and I must say this was the best birthday party I have ever had. Thanks to all the CCSP staff and students for making it such a memorable night! Enjoy the photos below!
SLCs Caleb and Jess with the most stunning flapper (Birdie aka me) in town.
My flapper gal pals and I doing the Charleston (or what I thought was the Charleston, haha)
A toast to the birthday girl!
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