It seemed like a normal night on the outside of Jurong Entertainment Centre, but up in Fuji Ice Palace was a flurry of activity. There was a buzz in the air, a booth at the entrance, people in identical black polo t-shirts, and a respectable crowd.

Scratch your heads no more, it’s NTU ISC’s Questa Fiesta! Held this year on the 29th of November from 7.30pm to 10pm, it was a chance for both members and non-members to skate, play games, eat, drink, and generally have a good time.

First up were performances by two lovely young skaters, from SISA, Singapore Ice Skating Association. They wowed everyone present with their energetic leaps, spins, and effortless grace. Next, the rink was open to the public, and everyone poured in to skate with the music. We interviewed some of the happy faces present to see what they thought of the event so far. “Our favourite part is the open rink, as we love to skate,” said Jason. His friend Victor added, “We like ice-skating because it’s fun.” Taking in their “punk-ish” appearance, we asked if they tried doing stunts on ice before. “Oh, those are not really stunts, we’re just fooling around.” Said Jason.

Accidents happen. A member’s friend, Thomas, fell quite hard on the ice. We decided to ask him about his er, unfortunate experience. Is he alright? “Yes, I fell on my back, but I just need a little rest.” It was his first time on ice, and he heard of the Questa Fiesta events through his friends, and thought it will be fun to hang out and ice-skate at the same time. However, despite falling, he still thinks it is fun! We ask whether he will still consider ice-skating as a hobby after this incident? “Yes. Accidents happen, what’s a little fall?” He smiled.

Next in the lineup was a game. Volunteers were asked to form groups of equal size and skate around cones placed in two rows in the middle of the rink as a group, with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. The groups were timed. The game proved to be a wonderful ice-breaker (hehe), as contestants who didn’t know each other and were grouped together got the chance to talk and laugh. We asked the youngest group, kids from the public, present what they thought of the game. “It was exciting!” said Sarah. Why did you people decide to take part in the game? Were you brought here by NTU friends? “We took part too see if we could ice-skate well as a team and also for the fun of it!” replied Jasmine. Rachel chimed in, “We just happened to come here today, and quite luckily there are so many activities today.” Indeed, Questa Fiesta is an event that is open to the public.

Finally, at the end of the night, there was a lucky draw for everyone. A few lucky winners walked away with prizes, but in the end, most of us left happy and satisfied, for despite the cold air and subzero ice, times spent with friends learning a new skill, laughing, falling, and playing, will always leave some warmth within. And thus came the end of Questa Fiesta 2005, an event by NTU ISC for ice-skaters, both new and seasoned, male and female, serious skaters and those who glide for leisure.