Photo courtesy of Jeanette Williams.
The end of the fall semester at Connecticut College is traditionally concluded by a winter feast in Harris Dining Hall is transformed and we have a celebration known as Festivus. Festivus, named for the sitcom Seinfeld’s secular holiday, is meant to be an alternative to Christmas. At Conn, it is the annual non-denominational holiday party typically hosted in the Crozier Williams Student Center.
Opinions Editor Jimmy Cork ‘22 has been known to comment on Festivus claiming that “the entire joke of that plotline is that Festivus is a terrible holiday that resulted in George being physically and mentally abused as a child by his father.” However, at Conn, Festivus is often something to look forward to. Festivus is a commemoration of the end of the semester before students cram into Shain Library to prepare for finals, before students leave campus for the semester, and before the new semester begins.
The phrase “the new normal” is one that has been overused time and time again during the last two years but once again comes into play as the College transforms a normal holiday at Conn into something new to deal with the persistent threat of Covid-19, now bolstered by the new Omicron variant.
Festivus, hosted on Dec. 11, will be moved outside this year onto Tempel Green, much like Tent Dance and the Halloween Dance hosted earlier in the semester. “Covid is still popping so we have made a conscious decision for fall for all dances to be outside,” said Jeanette Williams, Associate Director of Student Engagement and New Student Programs. The College will not require a rapid test for the event, “but be honest if you feel sick please stay in your room,” Williams added.
The event will feature an ice skating rink, a snow globe-themed photo booth, and a concert by Trevor Daniel, a pop and r&b singer best known for his 2019 single “Falling.” “There will be heating lamps around the green and our production company will be on hand for [Trevor] Daniel and we’ll be doing holiday lights around the green on the trees already in place and hang lights around the sidewalks. It will be colorful! In early October we booked a company that’s bringing a mini ice rink which I thought would be really freaking cool… imagine all the fun shots you’ll get! It can do like 45-50 people at a time and so we’ll be having half-hour ice loops. Class Councils have worked on getting the food trucks for Festivus, we’ll be having the Waffle Wagon truck & then Craftbird food truck free for the first 100 people on Tempel Green. We didn’t have any concerts last year so I felt it was important for us to make one of our first traditional events that’s back really good,” stated Williams
For some students across campus, the return of Festivus albeit in a slightly different way is exciting.
“Festivus going from a semi-formal high schoolish dance to a little bit of a winter festival is a massive improvement, for me. I can’t dislike the idea of having an ice-skating rink and concert on Tempel Green. It gives me hints of Floralia. Plus, with Trevor Daniel coming, Temple Green is a significantly better venue than any indoor space at Conn. I’m sure I’ll be in the minority as I imagine most people dislike the idea of being out in the cold all night. But if Festivus truly will be how it’s being advertised by SGA and the Office of Student Engagement, I fully support it over an indoor dance,” said Lloyd Cleary’22 when asked for his thoughts on Festivus moving outside. Samirah Jaigirdar ‘22, agreed, “I’m looking forward to Festivus. There’s going to be a lot of cool stuff. This is random but since it’s going to be cold, I can just wear a jacket and not have to worry about dressing super nicely.”
The Festivus attractions will open at 8 PM with music played by DJ Eazy and Daniel performing at 11 PM.
“I think this is a great way for us to start testing waters for what we can do with all our traditions moving forward,” Williams concluded.
