The Extravaganza Continues!

Hello hello!

We had a fantastic time at our Halloween Extravaganza last night! It was wonderful to see our fellow JETs and their JETlings in costume and enjoy an evening of fun activities.

At our Family Fun Hour we enjoyed making ghost and pumpkin origami crafts. These cute crafts are great for creating garlands or other decorations for the house! If you’d like to try them for yourself, you can find the patterns here.

Candy debates and JET Halloween memories dominated our Adult Happy Hour! We loved hearing everyone’s stories of introducing American candy to Japanese students and coworkers. 

Did you know that the first written record of the phrase “trick-or-treat” was in a Canadian newspaper in 1927? Or that the first citywide Halloween celebration took place in Anoka, Minnesota in 1921? Our Halloween Trivia game was certainly challenging! Congratulations to Devyn, Jayne, and Gabe for claiming the top three spots!

But the true star of the show was Chicago JET Alum Justin Torres and his amazing pumpkin carving skills! Justin shared with us a very special pumpkin he’d carved just for JETAA Chicago, as well as several of his other creations. If you’d like to follow Justin and his carving escapades, check out his twitch channel!

Which brings us to our next announcement…

JETAA Chicago is hosting an Instagram jack-o-lantern campaign!

From October 25th-31st, post your jack-o-lanterns with the hashtag #JETolantern2020, or send your photos to info@jetaachicago.com, and we’ll share your creations on our Instagram stories!

If you’d like to try your hand at the JETAA Chicago logo as Justin has, you can find the pattern here. We’d also love to see your original creations.

We can’t wait to see all of your pumpkins! 

If you’d like to get involved in future JETAA Chicago events, please join us at our November Open Board Meeting on November 2nd!

Halloween Extravaganza!

JETAA Chicago will be hosting a variety of events to help keep your Halloween souls in high spirits! Whether you’re looking for something for the kids, yourself, or both, we’ve got you covered. Come spend an evening with us enjoying all sorts of Halloween festivities.

This event is split into two main parts. You are free to attend one or both as you wish, just be sure to select the appropriate tickets when you sign up via Guestlist.

Family Fun!

Our kid-friendly event will kick off at 4:45pm CST. As participants enter the room, JETlings can show off their Halloween costumes or just say hello! We'll have a few icebreaker activities Mom and Dad can help with to keep kids engaged. At 5:00, we'll conduct a Halloween origami workshop. Parents and JETlings alike will learn to make a cute pumpkin craft!

All you’ll need for the kids' event is origami paper. But don’t worry if you don’t have any; you can make origami paper from recycled paper easily! How to guide.

At 5:30 we'll take a break so Moms and Dads can get their littles settled for the evening.

Adult Happy Hour

At 6:00 we'll open the room once more for our adults-only happy hour! Feel free to dress up in your own costume, grab a festive beverage, and prepare some spooky snacks. After introductions and a group kanpai, we'll celebrate with ghoulish games and terrifying trivia!

Special Guest!

To cap off an evening of fun, Justin Torres, expert pumpkin carver and fellow Chicago JET Alumni, will show us a special carving and answer your questions about how to carve that perfect Halloween pumpkin!

Justin is streaming his pumpkin carving projects every night of October! Check him out on his Twitch account!

Full Event Agenda:

4:45 - Family Fun Check-in and Costume Parade

5:00 - Origami Workshop

5:30 - Break

6:00 - Happy Hour Check-in and Icebreakers

6:15 - Introductions

6:30 - Kanpai!

6:40 - Fun and Games!

7:45 - Special Guest Presentation

8:00 - Event closes

RSVP Here!

* These events are for JET alumni and their families. Priority will be given to JETAA Chicago members before members of other chapters. If an alumni is social distancing with a Friend of JET (FOJ), they are welcome to join on their screen with them.

Questions? Contact us at activities@jetaachicago.com.

Battle of the Houses!

It was a warm evening in early June when the end-of-year feast was held at Virtual Hogwarts. The students gathered together one last time before dispersing to their individual homes.

The lessons had been long, and the exam questions difficult. Yet the students had been eager to express the knowledge they'd gained. Everyone had worked hard to reach this moment.

"This year's House Cup goes to..."

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JETAA Chicago's Third Time's the Charm Harry Potter Trivia Night was a rousing success! Wizarding World fans from all over the US, Canada, and even Japan gathered together for a night of nerdery and fun. What followed was a battle of memory and wit, with House Pride on the line!

Each question was worth 100 points, with the whole game coming to 3000 points! However, it's not as easy as just choosing the right answer. Each question decreases in value as time elapses, so speed is just as important. The cries of dismay when a wrong answer was selected too quickly echoed throughout the courtyard... erm. Conference room. But at least Cassie's typos and other mistakes helped to relieve the tension ^_^'

After three rounds of magical mischief, it was time to tally up the scores. First, we'd like to give a shout-out to the top four players, who also happen to be the MVP's for their individual Houses!

Holly and Jeremy maintained positions in the top three throughout all three rounds, while Lauren and Carl each took first once. An extra shout-out to Dustin, who took first in the second round!

Our between round discussions of favorite classes and coveted charms were illuminating to say the least. Some of the answers definitely confirmed the Sorting Hat's decisions regarding House placement...

This was our first attempt at a Team Trivia format. When logging into the quiz app, players could choose from one of the four Hogwarts Houses. Interestingly enough, with sixteen players we wound up with almost equal teams! The winning team was calculated by averaging the individual scores of its members. And despite hailing from different parts of the country (and the world!), we proved that House Pride brings everyone together.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... Which team took the House Cup???

Congratulations to the winning team! Lauren, Jenn M, and Jess proved that few can truly be mighty!

We're looking forward to our next event! Hope to see you there ^_^

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