INSPIRATION FOR THIS MEETUP
- Fourth Year Anniversary of Connect (15th of July, 2016) coinciding with my 4th month anniversary on Connect (4th of March, 2020)
- The desire to make people a little happier
- Desire to share diverse music, Arts and Culture of different localities of Local Guides from around the world
- Knowledge that I have a strong backing in my "Learn while you play" paddies; @FalguniP and @AlphaSays
THE D-DAY
On the 26th of July, 2020 at 12:30 P.M. (GMT+1), we gathered together to fulfill the Mission of Maps; "to find the places worth visiting and the things worth doing" by coming together to share with one another; our Music, Arts and culture.
ATTENDANCE LIST
- SOPHEA TIENG (I HOPE WE MADE YOUR FIRST MEETUP WORTH IT)
- VIKRAM BISHNOI (BEST ATTENDEE)
- RAJU ROYAL
- JOSE G BENJAMIN
- ANIL SINGH
- PAUL PAVLINOVICH
- SOPHIA
- BILAL SHIAKH
- MR. KALYAN PAL
- AUDREY NGAM
- ROSY KOHLI (BEST PRESENTATION -1)
- MD REAZUL HOQUE
- SHREEYA BARAI (BEST PRESENTATION -2)
- FELICIANA XIE
- DELIANA PERMATASARI
- INDAH NURIA SAVITRI (BEST COSTUME -1)
- NAMLESH KUMARI
- UCHENNA OKAMKPA (1:28:01- SURPRISE WAITING)
- SAGIR ADAMU
- NARENDRA MITHUN ( I NEVER MET YOU BEFORE SUNDAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SUCH AN AWESOME GUEST)
- CHANANART CHIVAPRUK (1:14:16) -Thank you for all the Meetup Screenshots.
- OGECHI EWURU
- ISAAC OGUJI
- JEAN
- DEVI DIMITRA MAKSUM
- YULIA SUCI REJEKI
- YASHODA
- GURU KRISHNA PRIYA SREENATH (SHE IS THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ON THE COVER OF OUR YOUTUBE VIDEO, MY MA)
- ANIK SETYAWATI
- SAIDUL ISLAM
- OSAMA ZAINA
- RAGHAVENDRA
- ISHA
- NITISH GAUTAM
- PATRICK DAUDU
- ERNA LABEAU (BEST COSTUME-2)
- JAISON
- ARATI SHINDE
- NITA BURMAN CHOUDHURY
- AKINLADE JEREMIAH
- SHRUTI -ThanksDi for all the clear, screebshots.
- TEJAL CHHAYA
- SHRUTI UPADHYAY
- SARATH KARAKKATTU (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE ATTENDIE, EVEN THOUGH I NEVER MET YOU BEFORE SUNDAY. THANK YOU)
- FALGUNI PALEJA
- ALPHA SUMAREH
- EWAADE OLUWA
P.S.: Did you come? Even for a second? Is your name missing from this list? I owe you a âFULL cone of Ice-creamâ when we see. Please call my attention to it, so, I can do the needful.
BEFORE THE MEETUP BEGAN (Before 12:30 p.m.)
Alpha opened the bridge at 12:15 p.m.
SOFT MUSIC and CHITCHAT: The Attendees were welcomed to the 'Festivalâ with the sound of soft music and chitchat by the earliest attendees.
Paul @PaulPavlinovich arrived even before me and it was a lot of fun. It was like a reunion of students from the Photography series. Paul proceeded to tease each of us. 
I am laughing so much just writing this 
I was very excited to see Paul, cheering us on. I mean it was few minutes to 10 p.m. where he lives. He is a great support system to all. Thank you
@Sophia_Cambodia Sophia had never attended a Meetup before this one. So, she was 
very excited to see everyone, everyone, all in one screen and her excitement was Palpable. The Meetup Video almost begins with Sophiaâs âwowingâ. Thank you, Sophia. Your excitement is simply contagious and your photos (of music, arts and culture from your country) in the M.A.C.C.A.-4 Album are simply stunning!
Other Attendees that joined before 12:30 p.m. and kept the conversation going were; @Shreeya_99 @rajuroyal who joined with his food 
@FalguniP
MEETUP BEGINS! 
The Meetup began at 12:40 P.M. with strong vibes from Alpha and me.
Ewaade goes; "this Meetup is not about you coming to âlearn anythingâ, No! itâs all about you! Tell us about âYouâ as you share with us three places in your country where we can enjoy your countryâs quality food, music and culture.
Alpha goes; "Ladies and Gentlemen, itâs going to be groovy, itâs going to be fun, if you donât have your dancing shoes, get them. We are going to the Gambia, from there to Nigeria. Itâs all about Culture, itâs all about Connecting, itâs going to be 
I have never seen a more vibrant, appreciative and jubilant Virtual community. It was cute to watch.
Shortly after, Alpha began his presentation.
ALPHAâS PRESENTATION (10:10 - 29:48)
Welcome to the Gambia; the Smiling Coast of Africa.
Alpha took us through the music, the Arts, the Culture of Gambia and on; why you should visit the "Smiling Coast of Africa".
We were enthralled as He shared with us influences of the Gambian culture, the food, the famous dances, the bridal costume, the biggest fashion festivals and their significance, also sharing with us some important âbackstage photosâ.
One place he says we should not fail to visit if ever we visit the Gambia is; Mama Africa
Paulâs comment summarizes the feel of the audience after Alphaâs presentation; âGambia is the smallest Country in Africa, right? Thatâs a lot of energy coming from that Small Countryâ
And did you hear when Alpha said he once stepped on a Crocodile? 
Yea, itâs right there in the video.
INTERLUDE
After Alphaâs Presentation, to our astonishment, no one had a question. Yeah! It was that perfect! Alpha thrilled us with some music from the Gambia, before we (all Local Guides) headed to the Airport, prepared to board a Plane that will bring us to Ewaadeâs Nigeria.
Three Places to enjoy Nigerian Music, Arts and Culture in Lagos State, Nigeria where I live and one place to enjoy it in the Diaspora.
- New Afrika Shrine
- Nike Arts Gallery
- Terra Kulture
- With Laolu Senbanjo who is based in New York City.
Laolu Senbanjo and his 'Sacred Heart of the Oriâ brings Nigerian Art and Culture to you with his Body Art.
He is the Artist responsible for the Body Art in Beyonceâs video; Sorry.
I capped my Presentation with the story of Queen Moremi, the brave Yoruba legend who made a heroic sacrifice and gave up everything she owned for the âpeople who owned herâ; the people of Ile-Ife.
To Protect her only son; Ela Oluorogbo and her beloved community, she sought to conquer the terrorists who were plundering their town and taking the people captive, she sought the help of the River goddess; Eshimirin.
According to Culture, customs and traditions that were passed down through the generations; through Metaphysical powers, Eshimirin assisted her in winning the battle as she allowed herself to be kidnapped by the terrorists in order to learn their secrets**.**
Shortly after their victory against the terrorists, she went with her people with gifts to appreciate and show gratitude to the River goddess who rejected all the gifts they had brought and who, scoffing said;
"I WANT YOUR SON"
Lying face down, she pleaded with the goddess who told her;
âa Sonâs journey begins, where a motherâs stops. Your son, âEla-Oluorogboâ must embrace his fate.â
The other people fell face flat to plead with the River goddes, who feeling worn out by their endless pleas, snapped;
"Refuse to give me this sacrifice and Ile-Ife will burn!"
I proceeded to share with them 2 clips from the recreation of this Legendary tale at Terra Kulture called; âQueen Moremi the Musicalâ .
It took a long time to get our attendees out of the story telling mood.
INTERLUDE
- Questions
- comments
and the special; Akinlabi Jeremiah; who assisted in managing the chat room during the 'Story tellingâ and attended the queries.
At the end of the Presentation, it was time to meet the Attendees-in-style.
INTRODUCTION (1:06:00 - 2:28:00)
This was managed by Falguni.
For this third part, Attendees were asked to introduce themselves in a fanciful version.
- Say your name and Level
- Show off your costume and explain what it is you are wearing and what country we can find it
- Do a short presentation
- Vote for best Presentation, best costume and special recognition
FALGUNI took charge of this session very well! She took a roll call of the attendees in Alphabetical order. Oh my! It was so beautiful to watch! We went all over the world, taking in cultural festivals, dances, places to visit, musical instruments.
It was so beautiful I could almost pass out from excitement.
You need to watch the video, no explanation can do this justice.
Like, we even had to learn to say favorite phrases from everyoneâs countryâŚ
After the last presentation which was from Bali, Indonesia, we began our games while people votedâŚ
One Presentation that left me in âstitchesâ 
was that of Shruti.
Shruti Upadhyay was telling us about her culture and told of how there was a song in her place that goes;
âwhen a girl puts on lipstick, it feels like there is earthquake everywhereâ
Whatever that means!
I have watched that portion of the video about 90 times because I am imagining if her city was in Nigeria 
her city will be non-existent because; many women here wear lipsticks even when going to bed!
FOODIE GAME
I mean after 3 hours, it was time to eat, right?
So, we went straight to the âfoodie gameâ. All Participants had to go to their kitchen or be close to it
So, like an experienced auctioneer, my shrilly voice 
(this is your cue to reduce the volume before watching the video), went over the Mic as I screamed out the food items one after the other.
Falguni won this game hands down!
COLORS GAME
Next, we went to the colors game There was no clear winner, like everyone had the colors so close. Vikram, Alpha, Jean and Nimmi went head-to-head in this section.
CULTURAL GAME
Of course, we had to play this game.
The game began with people showing their countryâs flag. Yulia Labelle easily got this, while we went on to many other interesting things depicting each countryâs Music, Art and Culture
it was fun!
__Watch the video to see what we were up to__
GUESS THE MOVIE GAME
This was anchored by Alpha, later supported by Rosy maâam and Vikram. Alpha became many things; an animal, a Locomotive engine, and many other things.
It was exhilarating!
STORY GAME
Of course, we will not end our meetup without creating a Story;
The story began with Ewaade telling of how Local Guides got together on a certain Sunday to explore their countriesâ Music, Arts and Culture!
It would have been an easy one until we traveled all around the world and ended up in Bali with Vikram @Nomad_vikram getting married to a Balinese Bride
It is exciting to watch.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRIZES
Recall that; at the beginning of the Introduction, all participants were asked to add Photos to the Album and also vote for their favorites.
At the end of the session, Falguni presented the poll results and the winners are; Drum rollls âŚ
- **Best Costume - @indahnuria and @Erna_LaBeau **
- **Best Presentation - @RosyKohli and @Shreeya_99 **
- **ATTENDEE OF THE DAY - @Nomad_vikram **
All thanks to digital technology, all attendees were able to get their prizes.
Prizes were sponsored by;
Alpha, Falguni and Ewaade.
AFTER PARTY
Of course, there is no way, we are holding a Meetup without an âafter partyâ, we are a "Play while you Learn Trio", so, DJ Alpha hit the decks and there was no going back, we hit the four-hour-mark, yet, the attendees refused to leave, so we had to continue for another one and a half hours with Alpha pleading
The Album? Oh my! Itâs so beautiful, so beautiful, it may leave you crying, âHappy tearsââŚ
So, after holding on to all of these memories for over 3 days, itâs time to share with you;
Meetup Album; The Fanciest Meetup that ever held; M.A.C.C.A.-4
Complete video; Festival of Music, Arts and Culture of Connect at 4
The Hilarious Chat room; M.A.C.C.A.-4 chat
Youtube Video:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONNECT!
Thank you, dear Local Guides for making this meetup the fanciest Meetup that ever held.
Falguni, Alpha and I are grateful and were very happy to have you.
Ewaade
The world is truly a Global village that can be explored from the tip of our fingers.
P.S.: If you are looking to recreate this, you can read; LIKE A âPREGNANCYâ JOURNEY - TRIPS, TIPS AND FEELS OF M.A.C.C.A-4
! Ewaade your are such a prolific narrator and entertainer. You got me glued to reading this like i was watching anAmitabh Bachchan movie 
at age 10 
