Girls Zone's Got WOW!
Contributed by Yvette Michalski of Karori Anglican Church.
Girls Zone (GZ) meets Wednesdays after school during term time here at the SMASH club in Karori which is St Mary Anglican Church's after school care and holiday programme. Girls Zone has been running for about 11 years now. It's a mid-week, openly Christian hour or so. We focus on the good news of who Jesus is, intentionally and openly developing personal relationships with Jesus through the Holy Spirit and sharing the gospels. Our sessions focus on the stories and content being relevant and understandable for the children - most of the GZ children don't come from churched families. An important emphasis is on our afternoon tea having appetising food (Works every time! Certainly helps with retention rates!) and fun - music, drama, games, crafts and anything else that the girls suggest and works with the current theme.
We had done Girls Zone's Got Talent show a couple of years beforehand. We wanted to do something as good, but different. And possibly even better. On a passing comment from a member of our St Mary’s 12 Noon Prayer Group and much more prayer, the fashion show Girls Zone’s Got WOW was created.
Considering eco-awareness, a show presenting outfits made only from recycled and upcycled items was held. This was themed on the Creation Story in Genesis. Psalm 8 pulled together the foundation of the project along with the Genesis creation story to "teach" GZ what an amazing world we have been given and entrusted with. Once the children understood this, they were allowed to choose a specific theme from Genesis. They then designed and made their outfits based on their choices. The outfits were not allowed to have any new items at all, only upcycled, recycled etc. The opening to the show and introduction talk focused on Psalm 8. The actual production / show wove the early Genesis story into each performer / outfit that came down the runway e.g. God gathered the waters under the sky and called it the sea.... (enter the Ocean and Sea girls....)
All inspiration came from these verses and the girls did an amazing job. The show surpassed expectation thanks to the overwhelming support of SMASH families, relatives, friends, and KAC parishioners. We also had professional lighting and “smoke” organised by a parent. We were also very blessed by a volunteer – out of the blue - a young man from Weta studios who specialises in craft and creative outfits. Once again KAC hospitality from our parish was generous and more than we even hoped for! All of this was an answer to prayer and more than a reminder that God does care too about what we love doing! Girls Zone’s Got Wow was spectacular!
One parent said she'd never ever believe her daughter would do such a thing - walk on the runway in front of so many people. It was a big deal for many families too. Relatives from miles away attended, friends and neighbours too. The Girls Zone children themselves were hyped, excited and really proud of themselves and what they achieved. Their hard work and effort definitely paid off and delivered something even beyond their expectations.
We also designed invitations. They went out personalised by the girls themselves, put on our private SMASH Facebook page and emailed far and wide. We asked for RSVPs and sold tickets to fundraise to cover a couple of expenses. Tickets were $5 pp with a max of $10 for a family (of any number). We believe that having an RSVP and purchasing of tickets made the event more valuable.
As a bit of a side show -
On the day we had a HUGE box of milk bottle lids - collected (and washed) over about a month's time span from all the coffee shops and cafes in Karori. We had a competition - guess the number of lids in the box. Closest to the right answer got a bag of lollies. (Answer - about 580!). We had first, second and third prizes (high value lollies!) presented with fanfare to the winners after the show.
The point of the Bottle Top Guess was to show how much stuff we produce and don't even think about. Even small items add up to be boxes of waste.
The competition was a GREAT way for us to get to "work the audience" before the show and for them to feel welcomed before the opening "speech". It was great to walk along the aisles, get their names, ask who they were supporting (granddaughter, niece, cousin etc.) and record their best guess for the number of lids in the box. It worked really well to draw people (especially the non-church attendees and visiting whānau) into the fun atmosphere and set a relaxed mood.
Lastly, you can’t do this without food! To make it even more worthwhile, especially for relatives who had come a long way, we provided generous refreshments. A sausage sizzle and afternoon tea – again supported by our very generous parish - was welcome and a good chance to chat and buzz around after such a great event!
God was at work through the event. We had a ball! And it was a great way of uniting our community, parish and their families.
