Cactus Language Success at Brighton Festival Fringe!
Monday, 26th May 2008
Alex Wolfson reports back on our Cactus Language Evening in conjunction with Brighton Festival Fringe
I’m sitting at my desk with my hands shaking slightly and a slight pain in my temple after all the San Miguel I ended up drinking last night, but do not feel at all guilty about this because it was all down to the great night had by all who attended the Cactus Language Fringe event at the Western Front.
The Cactus Language (CL) team arrive early to set up the promotional posters and our own hand-made photo displays showing our holiday snaps from the language courses we’ve taken ourselves. 45 minutes before kick off we encounter a minor problem – there’s nowhere for the Mariachi band to change! All female staff head downstairs for a drink to give the Mexicans some privacy – though I’m sure Steph and Elvira sneaked in a peek as they pulled on those tight spangly trousers!
I expect people to arrive in dribs and drabs but everyone seems to arrive at once! Hayley welcomes everyone aboard and before me know it plates are being filled with delicious antipasti, wine and beers are flowing and the room is buzzing to the sound of the Mariachis. The CL team is busy chatting to our guests about their language learning experiences and plans. It’s really great to chat with people who’ve taken courses with us and hear their experiences as well as talk with great passion about our products to those people who have come along and haven’t heard of Cactus.
Everyone is really excited about the quiz! The third prize is a bottle of wine and the second and first prizes are a language course in the UK and a language holiday respectively and as the deadline approaches we are all kept busy as everyone wants to grab us for help with the answers.
Finally it’s time for me to announce the winners! I try to drag out the suspense for as long as I can! Mandy wins third prize of a bottle of wine, Wendy Gorham wins second prize of an evening language course in the UK, and both are delighted! By the time I come to announce the first prize winner the team are helping me to build up the anticipation. I announce the winner of the language holiday abroad – Grazyna Squler from Poland – and I am touched by the happiness and surprise on her face that she has won!
The Mariachis come on for an encore and even though it’s the official time to leave no-one shows any sign of budging for a while. People are dancing to the rhythms of Mexico, and enjoying the atmosphere.
I hear the last of the Cactus party animals (our own staff and our guests!) leave at 2.00am! What a great fun evening for all of us and what a way to show how much fun you can get from languages!
Tags: mexico, language learning, brighton festival, mariachi
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