By Minal Shaik
After a whirlwind of excitement, IGNITE drew to a close, and the participants and organizers alike took a well-deserved pat on the back. Everyone took a long breath because the frenzy is over and we are all settled into the happy afterglow of a successful school fest.
This year IGNITE went all out. IB and ISC joined forces to recreate the glory of the previous year’s fest all in the new unfamiliar online landscape. The Organizing Committee hit the ground running as they knew the outline of how the event was planned, but the stumbling blocks came soon enough. The demon of online event organising loomed over the valiant “OC”.
Opening Ceremony
The first issue came with spreading the word. Outlook is a powerful platform, only if people check their mail. Narrowly avoiding miscommunication, the event heads as well as the department heads were decided and preparations were under full swing. Once again, the team faltered due to a communication gap. The chasm between IB and ISC widened as information was always lost in transition. It was a high stakes game of telephone. Misunderstandings reigned galore. So, the communications team was created to bridge the gap. The communications team was in touch with all departments and events about progress and the things they required.
Vocal Synapse Current Affairs
Meetings. Meetings. Meetings. When you are coordinating such a large number of people, the magic word you’re looking for is meetings. Meetings made the team realise where they stood, and what they need to do next. A taste of the corporate life with every minute planned to make the fest come to life. Yes, the meetings were stressful as every head got an earful, especially the Organizing Committee who had to bear the responsibility of all the departments and champion our causes to the teachers in charge. Every week targets were set, and slowly, but surely things started to take shape.
Thunderstruck Tempest Electric Reels
As D-Day inched closer, new setbacks began to manifest, and the team was swatting out small fires that seemed to appear spontaneously. We weren’t allowed to invite people outside Bangalore, let people participate in more than one event, or play around with the registration fee. Due to this, receiving registrations became a herculean task. Schools were on Dussehra break so responses only started coming in the first week of November when the fest was right around the corner. The volume of registrations was underwhelming, and many event heads were crestfallen to see that they were unable to proceed with their hard work. Events were shot down left and right as they did not manage to pass the critical point. However, this fest is hardy, and it weathered the worst of the times and things began to look up again. The events that did remain pulled in an amazing amount of support for themselves.
Blackout Slapstick Shockback High Voltage
Before we knew it, IGNITE arrived. But before IGNITE arrived there was one final push by the tech and design team to make sure it arrived on time. Whatsapp groups were aflame with requests for videos, previews, information checks and all sorts of last-minute details to clear up. IGNITE made it to the starting line. Now, it was time to see it through.
After an explosive opening ceremony, the events were live-streamed one after another in a brilliant rainbow of intellect, talent, and grit. Variety was the name of the game when it came to IGNITE. It offered something for everyone! Except for a hiccup in the comedy event, the fest proceeded smoothly to the second day which was filled with a set of exhilarating finals. A grand flourish to end the day, the closing ceremony wrapped up IGNITE 2020.
Closing Ceremony
Despite the hurdles thrown our way from every conceivable direction, Greenwood High managed to put up a commendable online fest to engage and enthral the high school students of our city during this pandemic. We went through the twelve labours of Hercules to get here. But, we did it.
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