Carnegie Center "Fear and Loathing" Fundraising event

A woman dressed in 70's gear talks to a man

 Fear and Loathing 
This event is the Carnegie's biggest fundraiser and it was a lot of fun to work. The best part about this event was seeing everyone's costumes and there wasn't much required of Caitlyn and myself so we were just able to sit back and watch. While the event was interesting it wouldn't be something I would personally sign up to go to. You could tell that the attendants were passionate about their community and the cause but the event was more geared towards older people. 

This is the inside of the venue, as you can see the event had a great
turnout.

This is the lizard room where the band was located guests
spent their time floating throughout the rooms

This is the band performing in the green lizard room. The crowd
seemed to like their authentic 70's sound.

The night ended with a drag show, guests were very
excited for this event

Drag queens take the stage.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

    

Along with several other students from CIS 112, I volunteered at

Hunter Thompson as seen in Rolling Stones

the Carnegie Center's event based on the book Fear and Loathing

in Las Vegas. The book, written by Hunter S. Thompson, is 

mentioned on a Goodreads as, "The best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken." Prior to the event, I volunteered by posting posters advertising the event in local shops around campus and the chevy chase areas.

     I also volunteered at the actual event. The event included music, open bar, drag show, and food. Also, several artists created paintings and drawings inspired by the book.  The event included music, open bar, drag show, and food. Also, several artist created paintings and drawings inspired by the book. 

     Below is the cover of the book, which is illustrated by Ralph Steadman. 

Ralph Steadman was the very skilled illustrator who created all the images in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 

At the event, guests dressed up in 70's style costumes, drank alot of alcohol and ate a lot of food, and they seemed to be having a great time. There was also a Russian roulette table, at which guests one various small prizes like candy and sunglasses. I was stationed at this table to monitor and hand out prizes. I stayed by the table, which was next to the open bar and donut bar, for the two and a half hours that I worked the shift. It was quite an experience, and I certainly was not expecting it. I did not know anything about the book prior to the event, and honestly I was expecting something much different. However, it was a unique experience, and I am glad I was able to help.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

After months of waiting, the Carnegie's Center for Literacy and Learning finally held their annual fundraiser. This year the theme was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based on a novel by a Kentucky-raised author, Hunter S. Thompson. In order to make the party resemble the atmosphere of the novel, the entire building was transformed into a 1970's Vegas hotel.

Libby and I with one of the drag queens.

On Friday, November 6, a group of us went up to the Carnegie Center to begin setting up the decorations and rooms for the party. We set up tables and chairs, decorated prize wheels, organized the bars, and even blew up plastic palm trees and cacti to give the rooms more of a Vegas-feel. Because this was really my first chance to work with the organization, I was not sure what to expect; however, I was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and warm the workers and other volunteers were. I personally set up with the director of the Carnegie Center and he was very enthusiastic about the organization and the upcoming event. Everyone seemed a little stressed with so much to prepare, but also excited for the event to finally occur. It was a long day of running around and doing whatever task needed to be done, but I could tell how much the workers appreciated having us there to help and was happy to assist in any way I could. 

                      A snapshot I took of the crowded food room at the event. The line was always out into the hall, but the food was well worth the wait.

Saturday, November 7, was the night of the main event and the building was buzzing with enthusiasm and excitement as final preparations were being made. Upon arrival, I discovered that I would be helping out in the food room along with Libby. At first, we were directed to bus tables after guests left and help the caterer with whatever he needed; however, most people cleaned up after themselves and the caterer was pretty much set. We kept an eye over the room and helped out whenever necessary, especially with the older guests. We also were in charge of taking out the trash when the bins got full, which was not the highlight of my night. It was so interesting to simply sit and observe the guests as they mingled and enjoyed the entertainment. I loved looking everyone's 70's outfits because many guests went all out with the theme. 

One of the most interesting parts of the night was definitely the drag show. Around 7:45, guests gathered in the main lobby to watch three drag queens lip sync along to popular songs. I had only seen drag queens in movies so it was very entertaining to finally witness it in person. The guests appeared to love this little show and flocked to the queens for pictures after their performances.

This is a short video of the drag show that occurred. 

Although it was a long wait, I am glad I stuck with the Carnegie Center and helped out with this event. Everyone involved was so passionate about the Carnegie Center and supporting their work which made the event even more exciting. It was also great to see all of our work and effort we put into the set up come to life at the actual event. 

Video Reflection: Setting Up for the Event

Above is my video reflection for the Carnegie Center. I explain what it was like to volunteer for the first time and discuss my feelings towards my service site. I am very pleased with the Carnegie Center and look forward to volunteering again.

Video blog reflection

I am now a little over halfway through this service learning course, and I have to say it is going a lot better than my previous experience with service learning, but there are also some things about it that i'm not so fond of, as I explain in my video reflection. I think that if I had voluntarily chosen to do work with the Carnegie Center, and wasn't trying to squeeze in volunteer hours around my classes and psychology research, that I would have had a much better experience. The experience that I have had so far has been very limited, as I have only attended one event, but it is very evident to me that the Carnegie Center is a great place for children to go if they need help outside of school. They have a passion for helping children and a love for literature that I have never seen before. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the event they will be hosting this saturday, but if you are viewing this blog out of curiosity and want to see what great work the carnegie center does, I HIGHLY recommend that you check out this event; It should be fantastic, and carnegie classics are only hosted once a year.

Artistic representation of the classic novel "Fear and loathing".

The image above should give you a sense of the aura created by the book, which should be present this saturday at the carnegie center as well. I will be helping turn the inside of the carnegie center into what looks somewhat like the setting of the book. I believe that those who decide to attend this saturday are in for a treat.