As Splash’s staff – fondly known as Splashees – streamed into work on the morning of 1 April 2011, something seemed amiss.
Stanley was donning a fedora; Vernon was wearing a baseball cap; and Cailing, an artist hat.
No, it was no April Fools’ joke. Instead, it was the much-anticipated Cavanista – Splash’s monthly theme day with the tagline “Pretending to be somewhere else first Friday of the month”.
The second edition of Cavanista took on the theme of ‘Cover Your Head’. The instructions given were clear: you do not just slip on any headwear, you have to put together an outfit to match it.
A typical Cavanista starts off with the dress-up, follows with individual photo shoots, and culminates in a secret voting to determine the best-dressed Splashee.
Jacqueline Ong, voted the best-dressed at the first Cavanista – themed ‘Going to the Beach’, once again bagged the title last Friday, making her the strongest contender of the event thus far.
When asked what inspired her clown-cum-magician outfit that was topped with a high hat, the Splash designer revealed that she started off with a red polka-dot top that she had “no occasion to wear to”.
“I knew I had to seize a chance like Cavanista to wear it,” Jacqueline enthused.
The modest Splashee initially felt that “sympathy votes” led to her win as she also doubled as the hardworking photographer for the event.
But in retrospect, she said: “I think it is because I regard Cavanista with utmost sincerity and treat it seriously.”
Indeed. Besides forking out of her own pocket to pay for her red clown nose and magician hat, Jacqueline also posed spontaneously in front of the camera with what she called “womanly guts”.
Her efforts paid off, both tangibly and intangibly. Not only did she win two movie tickets (and a likely hot date), she felt that the monthly event keeps her upbeat.
“It allows me to unleash the fun, colourful and energetic side of me, and takes me away from the mundane things I have to do in life,” she chirped.
Cavanista has also proven to be a fitting part of Splash’s lively and close-knit culture.
Splashee Norman Lai said: “Cavanista is fun, imaginative, candid and light-hearted. It helps bring Splash closer as a family.”
The art director, who dressed up as a Chinese communist, also sees the monthly theme day as a “creative process”.
“You are given a design brief and you have to come up with your unique solution,” he said. “Of course, having fun is the main objective. There is no right or wrong.”
With all the enjoyment that Cavanista promises, it is not surprising that Splashees are already looking forward to its next workday-made-fun instalment on 6 May – themed ‘Nerds and Geeks’.
By Sheryl Teo, Editorial intern from Singapore/Unidentified character with a hat
Did you know?
- Cavanista was inspired by Shentonista (http://shentonista.blogspot.com) and Splash’s address,
Cavan Road. - More than a dozen different personas turned up at Cavanista: Cover Your Head, including a
chef, biker, Balinese, businessman, baseball player and waterpolo player (in his bathrobe). - A ‘confetti crew’ was specially formed for partygoers Shijin and Jat Leng, in an attempt to create
the falling-confetti effect. - Guest animal appearances included a small tiger and a tall reindeer.
