“Voodoo You Love? was the overriding theme of the Mardi Gras party which was held Fat Tuesday at Sundance Vacations corporate headquarters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The gala offered personnel in Sundance’s various offices to socialize and become acquainted with employees they usually don’t have the opportunity to meet during work hours.
The festive and colorful Mardi Gras affair was organized by Jessica Andes, Client Resolution Specialist, and Sue Saville, New Client Services, while Chief Operating Officer Marvin Metzger handled the New Orleans-flavored decor. Other members of the organizing group included Steph Haydock, Accounting Clerk; Ed Coppinger, Client Resolution Manager; and Tina Frisbie, Manager.
“At Sundance we hold a variety of differently themed parties throughout the year to bolster camaraderie among our employees. It’s somewhat of an informal meet-and-greet,” Andes explained.
The “Voodoo You Love?” party offered a variety of games including the bead toss, which was under the supervision of Ed Coppinger, who in the true Carny tradition showed participants how to win, but only after you missed the mark. There was a heated musical chairs competition which saw Pam Fantaskey, Executive Administrative Assistant, capture the throne.
Courtney Long from the IT Department baked up some delicious Fat Tuesday cupcakes. Party participants also took part in guessing how many strings of beads were in a jar (the winner will be announced at a later date).
One of the more interesting aspects of the party was a bingo game, which served as an interesting ice-breaker. The bingo card featured a variety of categories. For example: Who saw the Rolling Stones in concert? Who owns a convertible? Who does Yoga? Who has more than three pets? Who had something published? One of the more interesting blocks asked: Who can whistle proficiently? Apparently, there aren’t too many good whistlers at Sundance. The object of the bingo game was to get staff members to pose these questions to other employees, thereby “breaking the ice.” (That winner also will be announced at a later date.)
Winners of the various contests were awarded V-points for their efforts.
In addition to the fun and games, there also was an array of New Orleans’ dishes to savor including jambalaya, Fat Tuesday pastries, tortilla soup, croissants and last but not least, virgin Hurricanes, the traditional Bourbon Street drink … minus the alcohol of course!
Among the pastries were cupcakes fashioned in the style of the King Cake, which contains a toy baby inside. As tradition goes, the person who gets the baby will have good luck for the year. One of the Sundance employees who found the baby in the cupcake was Erika Reilly, a day-shift Telephone Service Representative or TSR.
And for those not interested in selfies, there was a colorful Mardi Gras’ backdrop where employees could have their photos taken. The photo ops were enhanced by people donning a wide assortment of masks and other Mardi Gras’ garb.
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