Kiwanis Family Luau!

Cal State Fullerton's Annual Kiwanis Family turned into a luau this year! Every year, our Circle K plans a picnic-like social to which we invite our Kiwanis Family. The purpose of it all is for our Circle K'ers and Kiwanians to get to know each other better in a safe, yet fun environment! This year I wanted to make it a huge event going from a full-on mocktail to a lunch to even a set of fun relays! We wanted it all, and with a lot of planning and help we achieved our goal!

The entire planning process of the Kiwanis Family Luau was much like a roller coaster. Sometimes things seemed all right, and others everything just felt like it would fall apart. But, in the end, and with the help of some very involved and helpful friends we pulled off a very successful event. Let me tell you a bit about the crazy planning.

When this idea was initially presented to me by my predecessor, it was meant to be a small scale barbecue with our sponsoring Kiwanis Club and our Key Clubs, but I wanted something bigger. Being a KIWIN'S alma mater, and having a deep passion for our family, I wanted as many of our branches to have the opportunity to interact and have the opportunity to get rid of the crazy biases some clubs may have about other branches. So in the quest for this I attemped to request the high school branches of our family, but was immediately shut down due to regulations of which I was not aware (high school branches and Circle K clubs cannot attend each other's social events). After having spent a week on a meticulously written Event Request Form, waivers, and heavy advertising (to Kiwanis Clubs and Circle K clubs all over my division) I was crushed. Soon after I had to overcome the challenge and move forward with the planning.

Kiwanis Family Committee members and I trued to attend as many Kiwanis meetings in the area as we possible. Our club sent out digital invitations, but also made crafty and tangible invitations to give to each club (because sometimes something classic just works better!). We had set a date two months in advanced, and had started advertising since before the invitations had even been made. We asked each club to invite their sponsoring Kiwanis club if they wished, to be ready for some fun, to be ready to eat, and we also asked them to be prepared for some friendly competition among our division.

I planned it all in parts. I started with the mocktail party, which was a completly new concept to me. I researched various nonalcoholic beverages, as wel, as snacks that could pass as fun and tasty and most importanly low in cost. Once I had the mocktail menu I looked into the real food menu, which was very easy because although it was luau theme the food was basic (cheeseburgers with pineapple slices, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and plenty of donated desserts). In regards to the food and a lot of our drinks, we were very fortunate to have such supportive Kiwanis Clubs in our division who were willing to donate their extra supplies from past service projects. Our Kiwanis Clubs covered most of our drink and food costs with their donations and CSUF Circle K wanted to thank them with an amazing time! So the planning continued with our relay planning. Because I had some background in relay events this came easily, but when things wouldn't just pop into my head I researched new ideas. By this point I had three independent ideas and "projects" and I just needed to find a way to put them all together.

Let's keep in mind that so far most of the ideas I had down were word vomit. I had just jotted everything down and I needed to tie everything together and make sure everything would work. So, as I began to slightly panic at the fear of failure, I took a deep breath and went through the entire event in my head. I thought of the serving utensils, of the props needed for the relay, of the small details such as where we would store food, who would help me cut veggies and mix drinks. It all just came together.

At the event, I tried to be at as many places as possible, but at one point I realized that one of the most important things about the event was for everyone to let lose and have fun. I had planned ice breakers and games for us to play alongside our Kiwanis Clubs,  all of which were very fun. Everyone took a chance, and with just a little push in the right direction, our family came together like peas in a pod.

The event was a great experience and a great warm-up tool for the rest of the year and the upcoming kiwanis family events. It also offered new opportunities and new friendships. I think every club should attempt this in some way! It is all worth it!!

-April Rios