Festival of Hope

On May 24th, Uchicago's Rotaract Club hosted a Festival of Hope.

The Rotaract Club is an international organization that focuses on community service for young adults.

Rotary's End Polio Now is the organization's largest campaign. In Hutch courtyard, students could take pictures to help promote the Rotary's mission.

Yuting Shao is the president of Rotaract  Club Uchicago. Here she explains the variety of social issues that the club supports.  . 

The club also aims to bring hope and happiness to the Uchicago community. 

Which they accomplished with the help of some delicious catering. 

Students wait in line for Asian food from a variety of local restaurants. 

Club members arrived early to prepare for the celebration.

This included stringing copper string lights,

stringing paper lanterns,

 putting up the clubs banner,

 

and balloon animals, because why not?

The club did a great job of lighting up Hutch Courtyard.

The club's president has a lot to think about to make the festival great.

Club members also start to set up the activity stations.

People start filing into Hutch Courtyard to see what the Festival of Hope is all about.

While the finishing touches are made to each table.

Festivities for the night included making paper lanterns,

decorating pots for plants and spices. 

Members of the club help run the station, with an abundance of stickers.

It wasn't just the Roatact Club at the Festival of Hope. The club invited other RSO's to table at the Festival and tell people more about what they do to help the community.

THFRP : The Homeless Food Run Project was invited to the Festival of Hope.

Members of this club make 60+ food bags each week and visit shelters once a month.

Here, they explain that food shelters are not always the most reliable source of food for some, which is why they pass their sandwiches out on the streets of Chicago.



Along with the food bags, members include cards with information for homeless services.

The Rotaract Club is sponsored by Uncommon Fund, just like some of the groups invited to the Festival of Hope.

China Care came out to support Rotaract Club and its mission.

The RSO offered water Chinese calligraphy lessons while they explained that their organization provides medical care and activities to orphans in China.

At a local level, members of the club teach adopted Chinese children about the culture every Sunday.

Members of the Rotaract Club use the Four-Way Test to build better relationships. Truth, fairness, building better friendships, and benefit to all are the main codes. 

The Chicago Youth Philanthropy Group and their members were also invited to take their own part in the Festival of Hope. 

The groups main mission is to empower high school students by use of philanthropic efforts. High school students on the South Side create and allocate funds for their own community service projects.

Rotary's biggest campaign is to end polio but they also sponsor many other service projects like Free the Girls which helps sex trafficking survivors with new job opportunities.

Bright Spark was invited to the Festival because of their commitment to teaching enrichment programs at CPS schools.

Their enrichment programs supplement regular school. A popular "spark" is on computer programming, where students create a Simon Says game out of an Arduino. 

The Rotaract Club had their own table where they shared their goals nationally, and in our own community. 

Bridge Me, an organization to bring international students and local students together, also brought its ideas to the Festival of Hope.

The club aims to foster a larger community of connections between American and international students. Pairs of students are able to go on cultural outings, such as visiting restaurants or performances.

As the Festival drew to a close and the mission of the Rotaract was successfully dispersed, students left with an uplifting outlook on the Uchicago community.

Robert's April Dinner

1. After a whole night of preparing the dessert course of his April Modern Art themed dinner, Robert starts out Friday afternoon exploring the aisles of Treasure Island and crossing items off his shopping list.

2.Treasure Island's extensive selection of sauces leaves Robert slightly spoilt for choice as he ponders which ones would complement his ingredients the best.

3.In a sudden fit of inspiration, Robert picks out some Serrano ham for an appetizer that he just thought up.

4.The haul from Treasure Island - the last bit of items that Robert needs to complete his dinner.

5.While standing in line Robert suddenly realises that he hasn't even sent out the email informing the patrons of his dinner of its location. He pulls out the already drafted email.

6. He sends out the email while the cashier checks him out.

7. This month's dinner is set at the Botany Pond, a place that Robert finally decided upon after weeks of deliberation.

8. The Botany Pond, located right on the quad and a comfortable distance from Snell-Hitchcock, where Robert's kitchen dwells, is perhaps The Hearth's most scenic location thus far. 

9. Robert only has a short two hours before the sun sets turn the Botany Pond into the setting for a four-course dinner party.

10. While setting up, Robert makes a conscious effort to not disturb the life around the Botany Pond, especially the ducks that dwell there.

11. Robert purchased 200 candles as part of the effort to turn the Botany Pond into a beautiful location for an evening dinner.

12. Robert drags tables and chairs from Reynolds Club and sets it up on the path that cuts through Botany Pond.

13. As he sets up, he chats with a few of his friends that are passing by, some of whom volunteer to help with the operation.

14. The sun is slowly setting on Botany Pond, and the guests are arriving shortly.

15. Robert's roommate's famous mini-fridge makes an appearance at this month's dinner. Robert also brings out a hotplate to the Botany Pond to prepare the courses that can't be precooked in the Snitchcock kitchen.

16. The guests arrive slightly before schedule and help Robert place candles on the dinner table.

17. As more and more people begin to show up, Robert presents his guests with a refresher: Home-made sparkling elderflower lemonade

18. His guests pass around the lemonade amidst introductions.

19. Everyone agrees that the lemonade is amazing, with its fine balance of flavour and perfect amount of fizziness.

20. As all the guests finally arrive, Robert brings out his first dish - an appetiser consisting of cantaloupe with the Serrano ham, sherry vinaigrette, and topped off with Himalayan rock salt.

21. The amalgam of sweet and salty is genius, and the plate empties quickly.

22. The guests converse among themselves while Robert retreats to a food preparation area in the far corner of the Botany Pond to prepare the next course. 

23. Robert prepares more slices of cantaloupe for his appetizer.

24. He brings out a second plate of cantaloupe and Serrano ham to meet the demand for more.

25. One of the guests breaks out his camera, ready to photograph the rest of the dinner.

26. The flowers that were picked up from Treasure Island earlier that day adorn the dining table.

27. The guests begin to take their places around the beautifully set up dining table.

28. The place settings are set, awaiting each guest.

29. Robert addresses his guests before the start of the main courses, explaining to them why he had chosen the theme and location of the dinner.

30. He then retreats once more to the preparation area to get the first main course ready.

31. The Modern Art themed dinner features these cans of Campbell soup, but not the tomato soup itself!

32. Robert empties out the cans in order to use them as part of the amuse-bouche's presentation.

33. The first course is Eleven Madison Park's Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho. Inspired by Andy Warhol's "Campbell Soup Cans" (1962), the amuse-bouche sets the tone for the rest of the dinner.

34. The day gives way to the night as the dinner guests get the first taste of the course (but not before the iPhone pics!)

35. Robert's second main course consists of prime raw tuna, watermelon, ginger-pistachio crumble, soy, and tomato water. It is inspired by Pablo Picasso's 1932 piece, "Le Rêve".

36. As is standard with The Hearth dinners, the diners were greeted with a performance group in between the second and third course. This month, the Ransom Notes, an incredibly talented acapella group on campus, were invited to serenade the diners in the middle of Botany Pond.

37. Ransom Notes brilliantly entertains the dinner guests with their powerful renditions of Psy's Gangnam Style and Delta Rae's Bottom of the River.

38. The guests are enchanted by the private performance and for the first time in the night, attention is not on the food but on something else.

39. The guests wait patiently as the irresistible aroma of the next course wafts through the air.

40. As night fully darkens, the candles are lit to illuminate the dinner table.

41. The next course consists of dark caramel salmon with gnocchi, garnished with basil. This dish is inspired by Jackson Pollock's "Number 8" (1949). The fish sauce that Robert carefully drips onto the dish before serving it compliments the salmon perfectly.

42. The penultimate course of the night is a medley of raspberry and mango sorbets, shortbread crumble, and mint. Inspired by Mark Rotho's "Number 2" (1962), this dessert is entirely made from scratch, with every bit of flavour carefully engineered by Robert.

43. The food preparation area is all cluttered up after four solid courses, but Robert has one final one up his sleeve.

44. The final course, which Robert spent all of the last night preparing, consists of vanilla pound cake with ginger-cardamom ice cream, topped with ginger flakes to complete the presentation. It is very obviously inspired by Piet Mondrian's 1935 piece, "Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue".

45. The dinner guests marvel at Robert's attention to detail with this generous piece of cake, which perfectly balances the flavours of vanilla and ginger.

46. As the end of the meal rolls near, everyone involved agree that the dinner was an amazing experience, and that they'd be eager to repeat it if given the chance.

47. A copy of the menu sits on the dining table at the end of the meal.

48. At the end of the night, Robert and the guests come together in a collaborative effort to clean up the area. Robert lets one of the guests take home the floral arrangements he prepared for the dinner table.

49. As promised, the area is cleaned up, and returns to its prior spotless condition. As Robert rolls the tables out of the Botany Pond, it looks as if the dinner never happened, but the guests of the night are unlikely to forget it anytime soon.