Post Rojak-A Taste of Malaysia!

"Rojak- A Taste of Malaysia" was a huge success this year. Even though it was held during the Easter weekend, we sold out all our tickets a week prior to the event, thanks to the publicity generated. All in all, we had approximately 370 people turn up for the event and this time around, more than half of the audience were comprised of Americans, as this night was supposed to promote the Malaysian way of life and culture to them.

VIPs such as the President of Drake University, David Maxwell, Dave Miles (Chair of the Board of Regents for the State of Iowa), Jim Hubbell (Chair of the Board of Trustees for Drake University), Mark Heppner (Executive Director of the Salisbury House), Rick Neumann (Nyemaster Goode attorney), Linda Grandquist (Prairie Meadows Grant Advisory Committee member) and Barbara Gartner (Des Moines Art Center Board of Trustees) showed up, besides host families and the Des Moines community.

We had a different theme and layout this year round, utilizing a skit to tie in various performances which portray different festivities held in Malaysia all year long and the word "Rojak" which literally means a fusion of things suited this very theme. We added a touch of Jumanji into it, where 2 foreigners(Americans) were caught in this crazy adventure by playing the board game and experienced Malaysia through it. There was a ton of visual effects and videos which complimented the skit.

We managed to get a couple of American people involved in the dances and skit and that helped with publicity as well. The Malaysian Students' Department of Chicago (MSD) and the Campus Fellowship of Drake University allowed this event to be as great as it was as we used their resources and manpower to make things work. Below are some of the pictures taken which unfold the story of "Rojak-A Taste of Malaysia":

This Was Pre-MASA Night. We Had Our Discussion and Meeting Before the Night During the Rehearsal

Arrival of the VIPs, Accompanied by the "Kompangs", Which are Traditional Malay Drums
The Organizing Chairperson of Rojak, Becky Hiu Giving Her Speech

President David Maxwell Giving his Spontaneous Speech

Our Very First Performance of the Night - A Duet by Shing Yiing Ong and Gary Shia, Accompanied by the Prodigal Pianist, Ian Wong -Mixture of "Melodi" and "Belaian Jiwa"

A Solo Guitar Performance by Havard Chan - a Rendition of "Rasa Sayang"

First Round of Raffle Draws with the MCs, Siva and Amy

Hannah Chung and Jason Rude, the Americans from Campus Fellowship, Who Were the Main Actors of the Skit

Jeremy Low -Wushu

Malay Dance Crew -Fusion of Traditional and Modern Steps

Thaipusam -Kavadi Carrier, Dhaya

The Mooncake Festival - the History

The Lion Dance from ISU

The Indian Dance Crew - Modern and Simply Awesome!

The Climatic Moment -Confrontation with the Tribal People

Overall, this night was a huge success all thanks to the people involved -the committee members and the performers.

This would most likely be the very last post for this blog. Sad. :(

Malaysia Boleh,
Rojak Team '09

We are officially SOLD OUT!

There aren't anymore tickets left for "Rojak-A Taste of Malaysia"!
We are really sorry for any inconveniences experienced.

Maaf Zahir Batin,
Rojak Team '09