Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many public buildings all across the country have been shut down, professional and school athletics have been cancelled and/or postponed, and all of us are now finding ways to entertain ourselves from the comforts of our homes. Whether we’re binging a new show on Netflix or learning a new craft or hobby, we are all finding little way to make ourselves handle being quarantined just a little better.

As a response to a nationwide lockdown, the BMB crew broadcasted a pair of “Break the Cabin Fever Game Nights” to entertain district families. Hosted by BMB’s Ava Scheffler and Luke Melfa, the game nights took place on April 24 and May 8. The participants of the first night were selected families of the district, and they took part in a series of fun and exciting challenges including making a rainbow out of household items and putting a series of names in chronological order.

During the second game night, rather than the district’s students representing each school, the teachers were the ones who were playing for their respective school. Mepham’s very own band teacher, Mr. Brandofino, was the lucky teacher who played for the Pirates during the teachers’ night.

I was fortunate enough to make a brief appearance on the BMB Game Night and play a game in the third round alongside Mr. Brandofino. Afterwards, I sent out a few questions on Remind about how he felt during the experience and his favorite moments. Mr. Brandofino told me that he really enjoyed the game night and all of the challenges he had to complete. “I was surprised when I had to change into a funny outfit, and I also had to be creative during the portion involving a scavenger hunt- I don’t own any VHS tapes,” Mr. Brandofino said. For those who didn’t watch the Game Night, Mr. Brandofino took a roll of Scotch tape and wrote the letters “VHS” on it, hence a VHS tape.

Mr. Brandofino also mentioned that he would like to give a special thanks to the BMB staff for making the Game Nights possible. He states that they did such a great job at keeping the events running smoothly, and he was impressed by how professional the BMB crew made the broadcasts look. “They should be proud,” he adds.

I was also lucky to hear from Alisa Romandetto, one of the members of BMB’s production crew. She helped work on the graphics for the game night. “I think that the game night was a really fun event to try to break the endless cycle of staying home,” she told me via email.

Although there were only two BMB Game Nights that were produced during the shutdown, you can still check out both Game Nights by visiting the BMB YouTube page at BM Broadcasting.