For those who missed celebrating the traditional New Year's Day on Jan. 1, last Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to catch up on the revelry, with the celebration of the Russian Orthodox New Year's Day.
The event, hosted by Pacific Islands Club on Jan. 13, culminated a weeklong celebration that began Jan. 7, the Russian Orthodox Christmas Day.
PIC, known for celebrating diverse cultures such as the Loy Krathong Festival of Thailand, outdid itself Tuesday, with a themed party that had more than 200 Russian guests partying the night away island-style.
“We always do this for our Russian guests and every year we feature a different theme. This year, the theme is 'Celebration in a Chamorro Village,'” said Paul Dujua, PIC's Food and Beverage Administrative Assistant. “We have close to 200 who signed up for the party, not just our in-house guests but other Russians staying in other hotels.”
In keeping with the theme, the Ironwoods Lawn adjacent to the Seaside Grill was fitted out with tents adorned with woven coconut leaves. Guests were met at the entrance with locally made beaded necklaces and a glass of aperitif. PIC also set up an activity tent, where its Club Mates taught Russian guests traditional arts such as weaving and making local handicraft.
PIC also brought in the Anuanua Dancers and the Icon Band to provide the all-night-long entertainment. Much to the guests' delight, the performances were interactive, with the dancers from time to time bringing guests to the dance floor for traditional contests such as hula dancing, coconut husking using one's teeth, and fire dancing. PIC's Yulia Aleksenko of the Guest Relations Department, who was the night's emcee, helped translate contest instructions.
The buffet tables themselves were groaning under the weight and variety of food prepared for the occasion. Although the names of the food were written in Russian, it didn't take much effort to identify them because they were divided into three sections: International, Russian, and Chamorro, giving the guests a chance to have a taste of local foods such as kelaguen, cucumber coco, red rice, etc.
The night was capped with a fireworks display that also had the guests popping party favors, toasting with champagnes, and blowing horns.
On Jan. 7, Russian Christmas Day, PIC hosted a formal dinner at the Magellan Restaurant, during which the Pacific Winds Ensemble and the PIC Club Mates performed for the Russian guests.
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