Anniversary Party101

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We started the day as mere cloakroom workers but came out as warriors. Let the stories of that night be told to Anglicans of each coming generation but let us especially remember that hard times make us stronger Personally, I would boycott a certain astronomical photo studio on Hämeenkatu for their CEO's unprofessional answer to our concerns, but maybe that’s just the pettiness in me Other challenges we faced felt quite small after that, but our committee was determined to overcome all of them.

From picking up trash to selling sweets, our committee completed different tasks to raise money for our great occasion. At the same time began the actual party planning. Choosing the place for the party was first on the To Do -list Quite modestly, we set our minds to the Castle as “Linnan juhlat” had quite a nice ring to it.

Anglica was established on March 17th, 1958 Merely 63 years, 11 months, and 5 days later the Anglica’s 65th Anniversary Party committee had its first meeting. Compiled with some seasoned veterans and fresh newbies, our committee set its mind to arrange a party that would top all others. And I think we succeeded in that.

I believe the words “This party was effortless to organize” came out of my mouth several times during the party, and granted it felt like that at that time. Still, I remember some other moments that were not so effortless. We could start our journey to the anniversary party from February last year, but honestly, the first time our committee proved that we could do anything was on April 7th, 2022.

The second party spot to choose was for our afterparty and similarly to five years earlier, we decided to trust the familiarity of our second home Q-house The real challenge was to make the spot pretty It is surprisingly difficult to find curtains of tulle that lit up to mask some of the monstrosities of Q-house but eventually we did it. With the curtains and a couple of trips to Lotta’s boyfriend's workplace, we had everything we needed to give the Q-house an extreme makeover My reaction when I saw the hall in all of its glory was something similar after the “Move that bus!” chants ended and eventually, the bus moved in the show. I’ve never seen, and will never again see, the place as beautiful

There is one person we had zero issues with. Let this paragraph be a love letter to him. I would like to welcome you all to be part of the Erkko fan club Turku Castle’s headwaiter, captain, king Not once Erkko said no to our requests, not once there was an issue with the party planning regarding the dinner and not once I had to doubt how the party would go at the Castle Erkko took my stress away

He liberated me from the concerns about the anniversary dinner and offered me, us, the perfect evening. No mountain is too high for Erkko to conquer, no sea too deep to cross While others at the company Erkko works at were hesitant to agree to some of our suggestions,

Erkko was not one of them. When hinting that cognac was not the favorite of our members and that we would like to have a non-alcoholic version, within a split second Erkko brought Jallu up as a substitute and started to develop a non-alcoholic version. He took special diets as his mission, and no mouth was unfed at the party And lastly, as our decoration plans for the Castle failed the day before the party, Erkko came through and dug up some decorations that were even prettier than our original would’ve been. Erkko and his team made it possible for our committee to enjoy the evening at the castle to the fullest And what an evening it was.

I remember walking into the castle in my evening gown and having this feeling that this evening would be something else. That during this evening, I would be part of something magnificent. I wasn’t wrong. I’ve never seen more beautiful people than during that night, I’ve never eaten better-tasting tomatoes, and I’ve never felt more connected to the community that Anglica is Maybe the best thing was that I wasn’t the only one feeling that. Aliisa navigated us through the party beautifully, Niiko delivered one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard and Kape made me proud by reading out the updated version of a piece of Anglican history. Lotta and Oili sang beautifully and the moment Lotta and Aapo took the stage, I was unable to hold back my tears. We laughed, we cried, and we had the greatest time.

I hardly remember what I said during my spontaneous teary-eyed speech during the last moments of the party, but what I remember was the faces I saw the staff who, as stated during my speech, have already moved on from me even though I’m still lingering after some kind of recognition from them. I saw my friends who have already graduated and moved on to the next phase of their lives, the phase I would soon join. I saw my peers who are at the same point in their study lives as me and whom I hold so dear to my heart, hoping that they will be in my life after we leave university life behind. But the most memorable moment was when I saw the next generation. I turned to look to my left and saw the eagerness that the freshers have I saw tears in their eyes and thought that our community must be the greatest because within just mere months we have welcomed a new generation who feels the same as I do. Not to sound too sappy, but I saw myself and my friends in them. I kept wondering whether they looked at us oldies and thought, maybe even hoped, that in five years they would be there. Celebrating this community, celebrating the people around them, and celebrating the life this organization had given them.

After that moment everything was bliss. Qhouse had never looked more beautiful, the music Sohon Torwet played was the best music ever, and the drinks from the bar were the tastiest ever. It’s hard to say what was my favorite moment during the after-party, there were just too many of them. Dancing to Kylie and Hittiputki with the members of the staff. Eating the best pizza ever Shouting out the lyrics of ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ with my nearest and dearest around me. Spontaneously joining the Jallurinki outside. Not sitting down for a single moment until the early morning hours. Even cleaning the hall and the toilets at 7 AM was the greatest.

After that, I had a moment of peace and quiet. Pihla, my co-chair, took the reins from that moment on and delivered the perfect Silliaamiainen with the rest of the committee All that was left was chilling. The Kahoot was exciting, Bingo was nerve-racking and even the dildo-flip competition (which I won once) was perfect The biggest thank you goes to my committee Without your effort and dedication, this party would not have been as amazing as it was. Thank you for that.

But now, once more, here’s to our beloved 65-year-old Anglica and to us. Let our organization thrive for another 65 years!

Katri Sohlman Chair of the Anniversary Party Committee