Laurel Silver
ENGL 622
10-31-13
Event Story
Rutland, MA; a small, rural town in Worcester County. With a population just under 8,000 residents, the town is not known for much other than it's vast amount of farm land. However, once a year princesses, magicians and three-tier birthday cakes become the talk of the town as one little girl celebrates her special day.
Thea Menardi, now six years old is the daughter of Rebecca and Eric Menardi. The couple has lived in Rutland ever since they got married in 2001. Mr. Menardi is the owner of Poltee Building products, and every year on October 20th, the couple drops everything to throw their daughter an unforgettable birthday bash. "We get so excited for Thea's party at school! It's the biggest party in our town." Said Katrina Valence, a classmate and friend of Thea's.
This year, the party was held on Saturday, October 26th at the Menardi house in Rutland. With a temperature just below 50 degrees, the couple opted to sacrifice some of the outdoor festivities they had originally planned. Instead the inside of the family's three-story house was transformed into a princess castle, complete with pink frosted chandeliers and a throne with "Thea" bedazzled onto the back of it.
To reach the Menardi house, one must enter through a passcode protected gate and drive down a stone driveway a quarter of a mile long. From there, cars are directed to the rear of the house where parking is available in a sectioned off area of the lawn. Families attending the party are encouraged to carpool, due to limited parking space. Once parked, parents and their children are met by the Menardi family security guard who checks invitations and then directs traffic towards the back door. Upon entering the house, guests are greeted by the live-in housekeeper who takes their coats and passes out glittering tiaras to all the children. "It's pretty insane," said Sabrina Quinn, the mother of a girl in Thea's class. "The inside of the house really does look like a castle. Everything is pink and sparkling. It's every little girl's dream!"
Once inside, guests are directed down a long hallway into the main living room. Here there are five different stations, each offering a different "princess-themed" activity. "Royal makeovers", "royal wardrobe", "make your own princess cupcake", "make your own tiara," and a "royal puppet show" with showings every ten minutes. Thea, the princess of the day bounces from station to station. Her brown ponytail swings wildly back and forth as she bounds through the room. Dressed in a short, bright pink dress complete with satin bows and frills, she is not easy to miss.
While the kids are entertained in the living room, parents are directed through the grand dining room into a large modern kitchen. The granite counter tops are perfectly polished and decorated with pink and purple lace. The back wall has been transformed into an open bar, complete with a bartender clad in a fresh tuxedo. "It's absolutely over the top! I mean the kids love it, but I can only imagine how much the Menardi's must be spending on this party..and Thea is only six!" Said Dylan Walsh, the father of a party guest.
According to Mr. Menardi, the party cost him and his wife a grand total of $100,000. This, he says is "less than some of the previous years." "It may seem like an extravagant amount of money to spend on a little girl's birthday party," he said. "But Thea is our pride and joy. We want to give her the best of the best."
Not only did the party cost the Menardi's a significant amount of money, but it also took several months of planning. According to Mrs. Wynn, Thea's maternal grandmother, the couple began making plans for their little girl's party at the end of August. "It's pretty standard for my daughter and her husband. I think Thea's birthday is probably their biggest event of the year." She said.
After the guests have had a chance to enjoy the different amenities of the party, they are herded into the main dining room for cake and ice cream. Thea is seated at the head of the table in her monogrammed throne. Pink birthday hats with "Happy Birthday Thea" are given out to all of the guests, and several waiters carry out a three-tier birthday cake. The pink and white cake is decorated from top to bottom with plastic beads and edible rhinestone appliqués. All the 200 guests participate in singing "Happy Birthday" to little Thea, who sits on her throne grinning from ear to ear.
The party comes to an end once the candles have been blown out and slices of cake have been handed out to those who want them. "This party was definitely a success," said Mrs. Menardi as guests began collecting their coats. "It took a lot of time and planning but Thea is happy, and that's always our goal."
As guests begin to file out the back door, Thea stands next to her mother and father and thanks each of her friends and classmates for coming. "This was one of my favorite parties because I love princesses so much," she said. "But I'm sad that it was too cold to have a bounce house."
As the party decorations are put away, the Menardi's settle in for a restful evening together. The town of Rutland, MA. will become quiet again, at least until Thea turns seven.
I modeled my story after the first Westminster story, "Canines Strut Their Stuff at Huge NY Dog Show."
This week I read an event story in the Globe called "Scores mourn beloved teacher, friend." The story was about the wake for Colleen Ritzer, a math teacher at Danvers High who was killed last week. What I enjoyed most about this story was the way that the authors effectively described the scene while also including a significant amount of information about Ritzer and her death. Although the story was sad because of the circumstances, I really liked the way the authors structured the information. The story alternated between descriptions of the event and facts about Ritzer's life and death. This type of structuring kept me interested and engaged in the story.
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