Hi everyone, it's Luigi. This week's post is going to be about our biggest fundraising event of the year, PassionFest, which happened last week. PassionFest is a charity dinner/ auction event where everyone can enjoy good food along with performances by a variety of different groups on campus. All the money raised from the tickets and the auction will go to End Polio Now, Rotary's movement against the polio virus. Polio a disease that affects nerve cells in spinal cord and could cause paralysis. As of today, polio only exists in two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and we are *this* close to eradicating polio.
This year, we started off with performances of Mary Murillo and Derek Gladstone, who did a few song covers for us, followed by Nayeli Correa, who sang songs in Spanish. After that, we had the privilege of watching the beautiful dances of Ballet Folklorico de UCI, a dance group that focuses on promoting Mexican culture through dancing. Then came the a capella groups Clair de Lune a Capella and Uniting Voices, who graced us with their wonderful singing. Clair de Lune is the only all-female a capella group in UCI, and Uniting Voices is a multicultural, and co-ed vocal group. After Uniting Voices, Jodaiko, a group in UCI that practices the Japanese martial art of Taiko drumming, came and performed. Finally one of our own Rotaractors, Kevin Zepeda, ended off by dazzling us with his guitar playing skills. It was honestly a great show, and I look forward to the event again next year!
We'd like to thank the all the Rotarians who came out and supported us, the amazing performers, the finance team who organized and led the event, and all the Rotaractors who helped make the event as successful as it was. This event wouldn't have been possible without you!
