I gotta feeling
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good good night
Tonight’s the night
Let’s live it up
I got my money
Let’s spend it up
Night It Up! 2009 officially starts RIGHT NOW!
It’s almost seven in the morning. I just got home around 5 a.m. Why? To help set up for Night It Up! of course! The tents won’t raise themselves—well, they certainly would if we don’t weigh them down with sand-bags; the stage won’t set itself up; and the lighting and sound equipment won’t wire themselves!
Oh man, if you were here last year, you will be amazed at the differences this year. A different layout, a different—much bigger—stage, and waaay different stage accessories. My jaw nearly hit the concrete when I got to Metro Square this morning. I won’t give too much away, but I am too stoked to keep these to myself. Here are some photographs of the crew working late into the night:
What is all this? Find out for yourself tonight and tomorrow!
Props to John Moy for pulling the graveyard shift. Three cheers to Melissa and the other stagehands, Mama Hung, Jon Ku, Urban, Jerry, Jen Tung, and anyone else who was there late into the night before I got there.
This is it, guys! NIGHT IT UP! IS TONIGHT!
You may or may not know this—and you should know this: Night It Up! is powered by Power Unit, a youth-driven, non-profit organization. Night It Up! is completely volunteer-based (no, we totally do not get paid. Therefore, consider feeding a purple-shirt Friday and Saturday night if you see one holding his or her stomach staring longingly at your stinky tofu…)! Every summer, Power Unit also runs a business competition—The Apprentice-style—called The E3 Challenge. For two months, four teams are pitted against each other in three challenges.
The first challenge is always Power Unit’s very own night market, where participants are judged on how well they can put create and manage a game booth. There will be four game booths by E3 Challenge participants, so be on the lookout for them! Challenge your friends and win great prizes! Here are two teams you will find at Night It Up! this weekend:
Team Vertigo presents Kill The Lights - booth located at G3
Are you up for a challenge? Or do you just want something to get your excitement going? If so, then you do NOT want to miss out on Kill the Lights - a fun-filled game of ball toss that will surely make your visit to Night It Up! a memorable one. During your visit, you will surely appreciate the artistic beauty of our game booth with the theme centered on Toronto’s extravagant skyline. Still not convinced? Then you must not forget about our fabulous prizes that are in store for you. So make sure you come visit our booth, located at G3.
Team Rock-It presents Hit Me - booth located at F6.5
Night It Up won’t be a perfect night of summer celebration without the perfect game to win the perfect prizes. Power Unit’s Team Rock-It presents Hit Me – a game that requires feats of strength and dexterity. Not only will participants enjoy tossing balls into our exquisitely made Domo-Kun and Robot-San, they will also have a chance at winning their very own Guitar Hero III, foosball table, and plushies of various sorts. You can find our booth illuminating near the festivities, may the lights guide your way.
HIT ME @ NIGHT IT UP
Friday, July 10: 7-1
Saturday, July 11: 5-1
And remember, these are just two of four The E3 Challenge teams hosting a booth at this year’s Night It Up! There is also Team AquaFire at Booth G6.5 and Team Behemoth at Booth E3. What, your GPS won’t translate NIU! booth letters and numbers into map coordinates? Darn, well, maybe you should give our Interactive Map a try! I promise no robotic female voice will tell you it’s “recalculating.”
Why wait for The Ex to open in August when you can try your hand at a game booth at Night It Up!? Besides, it’s not like we charge you for admission. The E3 Challenge is very close to my heart because it is how I got my start as a Night It Up! organizer—it’s how a lot of us got involved. The E3 Challenge also helps fund more Power Unit projects, so you are having fun and giving to a good cause. We thank you in advance! See you at Night It Up! in 18 hours!
As promised, here is the interactive map layout of the event (many thanks to Website Guy & Mama Hung 
). You can also find it on the “Event Info” drop-down menu, labeled “Map & Booth Info”. Simply place your mouse over the squares and rectangles on the map to view the items that the selected booth will be selling.
Light /Dark Purple - Food booths
Yellow - Merchandise, Promotion and Game booths
Light Blue - Stage
Red - Info booth and also where Night It Up! buttons will be sold
Have any questions regarding our event? Feel free to shoot them our way or post them in the comments section below.
Tomorrow’s the big day. See you all!
When I was in the 8th grade, I had to write a valedictorian speech. I knew it had to be sentimental and include lots of inside jokes that only our graduating class would understand. It’s was a bittersweet feeling.
When I wrote my grad message for the yearbook in grade 12, I wanted it to be timeless. I didn’t want to be embarassed by the time commencement rolled around in the Fall.
I was asked to write a mention for the people who have helped us promote Night It Up! this year and it wasn’t hard at all. It’s really heart warming for Power Unit to receive so much help from our wonderful friends, community partners and kind strangers. They do a great job at helping us promote our events! We are humbled to have established such great relations.
With our non-existant budget (think broke University students by day, broke PUers by night) we have still been able to get lots of coverage.
So incredible pals, please accept our sincerest thank you as we countdown to the opening night of Night It Up! 2009. It is in this stressful yet exciting time that so much kindness and support has come from all over the place. Drinks and home made cupcakes on us. (A small leftover from my baking party below.)
Here goes the list –
A big, sloppy, unforgettable kiss to:
BlogTO, TasteTO, Spotlight Toronto, Ming Pao Newspaper, Sing Tao Newspaper, Epoch Times, @TheTofuPress, @CETO (Cheap Eats TO), Guiding Star, Food Candy, 8 Asians, Pop88, Mac Insiders, Toronto Arts Online, TO Live With Culture, Joko Jun, Toronto Zig & more.