What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than to have a Galentine’s celebration?
On Feb. 12., Brock’s Student Justice Centre (SJC), in collaboration with the South Asian Women’s Society (SAWs), hosted a Valentine’s Day-themed party in Pond Inlet from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., created specifically for BIPOC women to celebrate the holiday with their girl-friends.
As soon as the clock struck 3:00 p.m., BIPOC students started coming into Pond Inlet, which was decorated by the SJC and SAWs teams in shades of red and pink and adorned with heart balloons and garlands all around.
Some of the activities that were advertised on SJC’s social media included cookie decorating, painting, a Valentine’s Day-themed photo booth, music and snacks. The expectations they set were surpassed.
Not only did each carefully decorated table get its own Valentine’s Day cookie decorating set, but students also had the chance to grab a fresh canvas and acrylic paint to put their creativity to the test, often in the form of Valentine’s Day-themed art.
Additionally, the SJC team set out a card-making station equipped with various forms of colourful paper, stickers, markers and envelopes for attendees to write love letters directed to themselves or others.
For those who were not as artsy or who wanted to share a group activity, there were opportunities to grab board games or card games to play with friends.
As for the food options at the event, students had different types of pizza to choose from, as well as the chance to make their own candy grams by grabbing the candies of their choosing and placing them in love-themed plastic bags, all provided by the event organizers as well.
Attendees took advantage of how the sun gleamed into Pond Inlet to take photos in front of the Galentine’s photobooth. The heart decorations and pink garlands propped on the wall, along with the shiny heart balloons that the SJC team left out for students to be used as props, guaranteed an evening full of smiles and fun group photos.
The evening also had something to offer on a deeper level, as many students felt the event was much needed to create a stronger sense of community for women who also identify as BIPOC.
“It was nice because I got to meet some new people, and we all have similar identities in the way we are all racialized and women,” said Angelica Pangilinan, a fourth-year sociology student and the president of the Brock BIPOC caucus. “When we were talking about our lives and our experiences, and the places we have in our families, I think I found some more relatability in talking to people who had similar experiences.”
Given the strong community bonds that were made at the Galentine’s Day party, it is clear that SJC and SAWs managed to plan an event that truly united women of colour at Brock to invest in their female friendships as part of their yearly Valentine’s Day celebration.