Portage High School students packed into the field house on Friday night for nearly 12 hours of fun, games and entertainment. The second annual Insomnia, put on by the Student Council, took place. This time it raised money for Gabriel’s Horn, which is homeless shelter in South Haven. Students that participated in the event rounded up pledges and donations. Each attendee also paid $10 at the door with all of the proceeds going straight to the shelter.
“We wanted to pick a charity that was close to home, so we picked Gabriel’s Horn since it is in Porter County,” sophomore Emily Mokol explained. Mokol was among the group of sophomore girls who were in charge of the event. That group also included Olivia Forrester, Taylor Searcy, Alex Pavlinac and chair Emily Evans.
Insomnia was originally created last year by Evans, who came up with the idea of Insomnia for Haiti to benefit those affected by the earthquake. Students that participate stay up all night taking part in activities, playing games, eating, socializing and just having a good time. The marathon of fun started at 7:30pm Friday and was scheduled to last until 7am Saturday.
This year’s slate of games to be played included ultimate Frisbee, a cardboard fort contest, a musical scavenger hunt, the Oreo Challenge and a flag football game. The 5:00 AM flag football matchup was new this year and was one of the most highly anticipated events by many of the students.
There were a multitude of unique things happening during Insomnia. Two live bands performed. The first was Turbo Turtle, a metal group comprised of several PHS students. Wesley Engel took the stage later on performing Problems and Principles. Pow Wow Radio, the student-run radio program at Portage High School, hosted an hour long live remote which included many guests. Activities of choice to fill time in between games included playing basketball, walking the track and kicking a soccer ball around.
Icebreaker games were played with prizes going out to the winners. These included Birdie on a Perch and Big Red Pony, two of the most popular.
Little Caesers donated pizzas, which were sold at the concession stand. Orange tee-shirts were also available for purchase. All of the proceeds from the concessions and shirts were tacked on to the total amount donated to Gabriel’s Horn. The shirts will still be available next week during lunches at PHS.
Adults who had a hand planning this year’s Insomnia include Student Council advisers Lance Corkwell and Jodi Barney and South Haven Elementary principal Christopher Evans. Corkwell, however, is quick to give all the credit to the group of students, led by Emily Evans, who took charge.
“Emily Evans did most of the work. She started planning it a couple months ago. She had a bunch of people help. ROTC has pitched in a lot to help out with the event,” Corkwell said.
After another successful year, Insomnia is expected to return for its third installment in 2012.