Dozens of people gathered in the Mandela Room on Sunday for an entertaining Hong Kong Exchange Square banquet, themed “Survivors.” The HKES was founded in 1994 at Binghamton University, and its overall objective is to bring people together to help them gain a better understanding of Hong Kong culture by hosting social and cultural events.

Sunday evening was filled with entertaining challenges, audience participation, performances, food and auctions. The room was decorated with red, blue and green banners, with many attendees snapping photos in front of the “HKES Survivor EST. 1994” backdrop. Fake leaves and fires were placed on each table to replicate the “Survivor” theme, along with creatively made brochures readily available for audience members.

Energy simmered among guests as they conversed over food catered by Mein Bowl, made-to-order Asian cuisine. Attendees eagerly anticipated a game where contestants would “outwit, outplay and outlast” their opponents, an homage to “Survivor“‘s tagline.

Katty Ho Fang, the vice president of the HKES and a junior majoring in accounting, explained how the theme of “Survivor” resonates with the organization’s values.

“The fall banquet stands as our most important tradition and this year’s ‘HKES Survivor’ theme demonstrates teamwork and resilience combined with entertaining competition,” Fang wrote in an email. “The event aims to provide enjoyment for all attendees through performances, games, and a lively atmosphere. This demonstrates the hard work of our E-Board members who built a night focused on community pride. The event creates a deep understanding of HKES as a place where people form family bonds and friendships while creating shared memories.”

This year’s game consisted of six contestants competing against each other in various challenges. Leo Chung, the fundraising chair of HKES and a sophomore majoring in computer engineering, and Izzy Young, a fall representative for HKES and a freshman majoring in business administration, acted as the hosts. The challenges included short games like telephone charades, “What’s in the Box,” and a blindfolded eating contest. As victors prevailed after each contest, a voting table was brought onto the stage and a survivor was dramatically voted out by their fellow contestants.

The first challenge, telephone charades, was built on teamwork. The six contestants were split up into two groups, and with the help of two audience members one person was given a prompt which they acted out and then tapped the next person in line to do the same movement, all the way down the line, until the last person had to guess what was being acted out.

“What’s in the Box” was the second challenge of the night and was built on a more independent victory. It consisted of reaching blindly into a box for ten seconds and attempting to guess what the item was. Whether it was a cold sausage or a piece of aluminum foil, only one contestant had immunity in the voting round if they correctly guessed the most items.

Between each game, the E-Board members performed a women’s hip hop dance, a cultural dance and an all-men’s dance. For guest performances, Chung and Katherine Chan, social chair for HKES and a sophomore majoring in biology, performed a duet. Iris Lin, a sophomore majoring in chemistry, played the piano.

The dances were lighthearted and many guests laughed at the unexpected explicit dance moves that were thrown into the boys’ dance routine. The girls’ dance was just as synchronized, using hair flips to pull the dance together.

Lin performed beautiful piano adaptations of Cantonese folk songs that captured the essence of the culture’s beauty. The audience pulled out their phone flashlights in a moment of unity as everyone swayed to the tune. The overhead lights dimmed, and the vibe shifted smoothly from performance to performance.

Fang discussed the preparation that went into the flawless execution when transitioning to the different events of the night. With planning beginning in June, the E-Board worked tirelessly to pull the banquet together.

“We held multiple rehearsals to coordinate lighting, sound, prop changes, and performance cues,” Fang wrote. “The smooth operation of the evening depends on various hidden operational elements which include stage setup, game timing control, participant and spectator role clarification. Our members succeed through teamwork which demonstrates their ability to work together effectively.”

After the blindfold eating contest, Irene Li, a contestant of the game and a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, was hailed the final victor of the night. Li described her strategy for winning during the intermission. She said that she planned to make as many friends as possible during the competitions, which would increase the chances of staying safe during the voting rounds. Then, as the night progressed, betrayal would be an inevitable cost of the game, as only one survivor would be left standing by the end of the night.

The auction at the end of the night, along with voting participation, kept the audience engaged through the many performances and contests. Each guest held onto their raffle tickets they received at the beginning of the evening and awaited the sound of their number being called by one of the hosts.

Audience members cheered as winners received one of the many prizes, sponsored by Moshi, CHICHA San Chen, LAFCO New York and Uncle Lou. This led into the final voting round, where the audience was able to fill out a Google Form and vote for the final victor out of the three remaining contestants.

The night came to an end with a closing speech from Christopher Chin, the president of HKES and a senior majoring in business administration. He thanked everyone and praised each of the custom efforts of the E-Board members for successfully coordinating this year’s unique fall banquet. With a warm and grateful closing, the E-Board exchanged flowers with one another and the audience came together in applause for the efforts of the performers, the E-Board and the survivors.

Chin hopes to “continue to be blown away” by the E-Board’s work ethic and creativity.

“To my amazing E-Board, you guys are the HEART and SOUL of HKES,” Chin wrote in the brochure. “Through the countless days of deco, you not only pulled through, you made every minute more fun than the last. I cannot express how appreciative I am that you spent your weekends to create something so exciting!”