Sweetheart’s Night took place on Friday, Feb. 7, from 3:30-6 p.m., leadership student Maggie Lau said. The event was run by leadership students and was meant to celebrate relationships and friendships, she added.
Leadership took inspiration from Disneyland’s valentine-related events, Lau said. Disneyland’s theme and events had captivated them, she said.
“We (decided to) create our own different form of it,” Lau said. “(Since) Valentine’s Day is coming up, we thought it was a good way to celebrate friendship (and) relationships, not just couples.”
Activities such as taking Polaroid pictures, making anonymous confessions, painting portraits, and buying from vendors were available during the event, Lau said. Churros, a fusion of Hispanic and Vietnamese food, and boba were sold during the event, she added.
“A lot of students enjoyed the fair activities,” Lau said. “What’s best about it is that they could take home the Polaroid pictures, the prizes, the canvas paintings, and the food.”
Unlike previous social events such as Hoco-fest, Sweetheart’s Night was located in front of the large gym instead of the green, Lau said. It was intended to be a smaller event due to the lack of advertisements for it, she added.
“A lot of people came and almost all of the activities were used, like the polaroid strips,” Lau said. “It was pretty much out by the time the festival wasn’t close to being done. Everyone benefited in a way, like (how) leadership got a lot of publicity from it and (how) all the vendors that came made a lot of money.”
Leadership wanted to be inclusive and cater to everyone in the district, Lau said. The event was aimed towards high school and elementary students, she added.
“Our goal for this event was to get recognition from students so they can enjoy our festivals,” Lau said. “So that next time, people would have a fear of missing out, and they would want to come to our events.”
Compared to previous social events held during the 24-25 school year, junior Chloe Lee liked Sweetheart’s Night more, Lee said. Sweetheart’s Night is unique from events such as Hoco-Fest as it is targeted towards people who want to spend time with a close friend or a significant other, she added.
“All the other events are events for big groups of friends or family,” Lee said. “Since it’s (also) right after school instead of later in the evening, it’s a lot less chaotic and it’s also smaller compared to the other events. It feels less crowded.”
Clothing vendor Vivian Tran was invited to sell her clothes at the event by a leadership student, Tran said. The process to become a vendor was straightforward, and leadership students were kind to her, she added.
“They’re very accommodating,” Tran said. “For example, because I’m a clothing vendor, I needed more tables, so they were able to provide that for me. They also give clear instructions beforehand.”
Sweetheart’s Night is a nice opportunity to spend time with loved ones, Tran said. She also finds the event interactive as students were able to play games such as cornhole and the Best-Friend-Q&A, she added.
“This one (Sweetheart’s Night) is more lively,” Tran said. “Students are interacting with each other more rather than doing their own thing.”