Sorry to see that it’s been held. What the OP did was almost what I was going to suggest - attend, not pay but carry a conspicuous packed lunch and drink with you. Every once in while grab something from the lunchbox while talking to other people, why even offer them some.
Went from rude, weird, and tacky to unbelievably rude, weird and tacky.
edited to ask: How many people were wearing red and white?