Spring Fling preview

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

It’s the last day of classes, and if you didn’t party it up last night, have no fear Ôcause Spring Fling is here! Promised to be the biggest and the best thus far by members of SAC, the Large Scale Events Committee, Student Council, and Willets RAs, this year’s schedule of events offers lots of fun activities for everyone.

Spring Fling kicked off last night with the SASS/Enlace pajama jammie jam, and will continue today with the Willets Carnival to be held outside of Willets dorm from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. As the Spring Fling posters say, “Take off your shoesÉstrap on a harnessÉTake off your shirts.” But no worries. You’ll be shoeless only if you want to hop on inflatable objects such as a castle moon bounce like the one outside Sharples on Carnival Night and a Slip ‘N Dip, a tunnel-like ride covered with water for running and sliding. As for the harness, there will be an inflated mock rock-climbing wall, which “hasn’t been used here at Swarthmore,” according to Willets RA and Student Events Advisor Myra Vallianos ’05. She predicted, “I think that will be a big hit, and will be something totally new and exciting.” There will also be Frisbees and music blasting, games of bocce, and possibly bowling.

As always, there will be a popcorn and cotton candy machine. According to Vallianos, Emiliano Rodriguez ’05 and Tevye Kelman ’06 will also be smoking
their famous meat and veggie dishes including upscale meat, meat burgers, veggie burgers, and grilled vegetables, delicacies that were previously enjoyed at the Willets Superbowl party.

Deans Myrt Westphal and Tedd Goundie will also be a part of the carnival. Myrt will be telling fortunes, and Tedd Goundie will be painting faces.

After a long day of fun in the sun, Student Council will be hosting the annual Parrish Beach movie night as part of their Summer Extravaganza. Pirates of the Caribbean will begin the evening at 8:00 p.m. followed by Dazed and Confused at 10:30 p.m. After the movies, you can “dance the night away” at the StuCo Paces party from 12:00 to 3:00 a.m. Word has it that there will be a real-life fishnet at the party.

On Saturday, Worthstock will bring 12 hours of live music to campus, beginning at 1:00 p.m. and lasting till 1:00 a.m. “This is going to be the best Worthstock that we’ve had everÑcertainly the best in my four years here,” according to Jeff Traczynski ’04, the chair of the Large Scale Event Committee. This year Worthstock will include an unprecedented variety of acts, a professional tech and sound crew, and an accompanying Kielbasafest.

Coordinator of Student Activities Jenny Yim says that Worthstock got additional funding because the entirety of the large scale event budget was not needed to bring Mitch Hedberg to campus. The larger budget means larger acts, including well-known names like Alo Brasil, El Guapo, Rainer Maria and some smaller, new bands like Jon Frederic. The Committee tried to find a nice mix of genres to appeal to a variety of students. Up first will be Swarthmore’s own Winner of the Battle of the Bands Rocktapus, followed by Dub Juice, Jon Frederik Band, Ian Thomas, Palomar, El Guapo, Cex, Rainer Maria, Alo Brasil, DJ MODA. These will blend Ska, pop, reggae, rock, folk, electronica, hip-hop, Brazilian percussion, song and dance, trance fusion. Alo Brasil will have dancers and costume changes.

LSE Committee member Martyna Pospieszalska ’06 says that Worthstock “should be a lot of fun. If a lot of people go and really get into the music it should be a great party.” She said that the committee is looking to create a big party atmosphere, unlike the past years when people have just sat around on the lawn.

Kielbasafest, described by Student Council Campus Life Representative Wee Chua ’06 as “a huge bash to accompany Worthstock,” will provide the food for Worthstock beginning at 4:00 p.m. outside of Willets. There will be 150 pounds of authentic Polish sausage for grilling on at least two big grills. Vegan and vegetarian options include lots of different fruits, strawberry, pineapple, and honeydew melon, and a variety of vegetables and tofu hotdogs for grilling too. Skewers for kabobs will also be provided.

If in the middle of all this, you want to take a break and smell the flowers, Shakespeare in the Crum will be starting at 2:00 p.m. in the Fragrance Garden. Dramaboard members will be performing scenes from Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Later in the night, Vertigo-go will put on their last show in Science Center 101 at 9:00 p.m.

On Sunday, there will be Field Day on Sharples lawn from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. You’ll have a chance to be a kid again and participate in potato sack races, capture the flag, tug of war, a seven-element obstacle course and indulge in tons of ice cream at the end. Later in the night, the Altuzarra Fashion Show will be held in Upper Tarble at 9:00 p.m. with a reception to follow with sushi and other goodies.

The grand finale to culmination to the weekend’s fun will happen on Tuesday night, when comedian Mitch Hedberg is scheduled to perform at 8:00 p.m. in LPAC. Tickets will be sold on a first-come first-serve basis at the door starting at 7:00 p.m. Hedberg, who has appeared on Comedy Central numerous times, was in high demand when the LSEC tabled at Sharples. Says Traczynski, “We are certainly rally happy to bring an act that a large amount of students had requested.”

As Vallianos put it when referring to Willets Carnival, “there will really be something for everyoneÑeven if it’s just good food! It’ll be a great day [and weekend] to relax after a long semester and to celebrate the last day of classes. Plus, it’s supposed to be beautiful!”