CHENNAI: As malls and other commercial areas were inundated with frenetic shopping activity the past weekend ahead of Deepavali, Marina Mall at OMR came up with its own twist to the festive season. ‘Festive Fortune Fiesta’ organised by the mall had shoppers, quite literally, digging for gold.
Game of boxes
On a Sunday evening, shoppers who made purchases worth Rs 10,000 at the mall were assured of a gold coin, but there were other ways by which one could strike gold. Emcee Natalia beckoned the crowds towards the stage set up in the atrium of the mall, inviting participants for the evening’s contests. One of them was ‘What’s in the box?’ held in partnership with Fever FM, and RJ Sano took over once the contest began. On a table were arranged 24 numbered boxes, each with a slip concealed in them announcing the reward. Entry into the competition was easy, but limited to 12 participants who had the answer to questions like “name five players in Chennai Super Kings”, “What’s the nicest thing you can say about your spouse?” and so on, all of which were asked by RJ Sano.
Having entered the contest, participants had to choose any two boxes by their numbers, between one to twelve, and thirteen to twenty-four. If the two paper slips in the chosen boxes contained the same prize, the participant could walk away a winner. And they weren’t always gold coins. There were even gift vouchers from select outlets. Some walked away with a gold coin, others with a voucher, but they all won something.
Less easy was the game that followed, this one anchored by Natalia. Placed inside a glass box onstage was a bar of gold. Through an opening in the box, participants, using only one hand, had to take out the gold bar for an assured prize of a gold coin, all within 15 seconds. Here, there was no screening process — one only had to write one’s name and number on a slip and drop it into the box, hoping it would surface among the 25 names that would be chosen in a draw of lots. The 25 that were chosen faced various challenges starting from trying to fit their hand in through the opening to finally being able to pull the bar out within the 15-second time slot. The game had no winners that evening, and the bar was promptly retired.
Children’s special
The event also saw special activities organised for children as well. An arts and crafts workshop on the same floor engaged children in activities like painting diyas, making lanterns out of paper and coloured bracelets. It was an evening where children had as much fun as the adults.
After the contests were wound up, Natalia remarked on the response to the event saying, “It’s been phenomenal. We’ve usually had events like this pretty often, but this being a Diwali weekend made the crowd a lot bigger and the participation a lot more enthusiastic.”