The 2015 Class Council will sponsor a block party on Webster Ave. on Friday afternoon, and U2 Nation, a tribute band, will perform in a Programming Board-sponsored concert behind Baker Tower at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Fieldstock's first block party is modeled off the event hosted each year during Green Key weekend by Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, council president Justin Sha '15 said.
Games, barbeques and live music will take place at Greek houses lining Webster Ave.
Other events include cornhole and volleyball on the Zeta Psi fraternity lawn, face painting in front of Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority and a "puppy party," featuring the dogs of various fraternities, at Phi Delt.
"In order for block party to really be a success we had to get the okay from every single house," Sha said.
Block party will conclude with the opening ceremonies for Saturday's Fieldstock Games. As of press time, seven teams have registered to compete in events including the annual Chariot race. Organizers reached out to leaders of all Greek organizations for both volunteers and event participants.
This year, Class Council consolidated the competition into one afternoon.
To encourage groups to participate, the winning team will win $500, class vice president Chase Mertz '15 said.
Sha said organizers want to prevent partygoers congregating in fraternity basements to maximize outdoor crowds so that the event feels fuller.
The smaller number of students on campus along coupled with the term's relaxed atmosphere has affected the degree of student anticipation for the weekend.
"Most people who I've talked to think it's going to be a fun weekend but not a huge big weekend," Shelby Schrier '15 said.
Because some students are taking fewer classes, more weekends in the summer have the same atmosphere as big weekends during the academic year, she said.
Safety and Security does not anticipate any problems or a rise in Good Sam calls this weekend.
"Generally Fieldstock has not been as big as the other weekends, but we will certainly be more attune to general safety on campus," director Harry Kinne said.
Fieldstock was first held in 2006 after the administration canceled Tubestock, the traditional summer term big weekend, due to safety and legal concerns. Tubestock was known for its large day party on the Connecticut River, where attendees would raft and bask in the summer weather.
"You would go out with your friends and jump from float to float and have a really fun day," said Colin Treseler '09, who was part of a substantial effort to revive the big weekend in 2007. "Tubestock was one of those things we had always heard about and romanticized about."
Reviving Tubestock's aquatic tradition still has not left the minds of Fieldstock organizers. In the planning stages of this year's festivities, Class Council considered having a picnic event near the river, but the event's advisor raised liability concerns, Sha said.
The drowning of a graduating senior's brother in June highlighted the potential for danger on the Connecticut River, making the administration's concerns "understandable," Sha said.
Still, not having the river incorporated into the summer's big weekend will not detract from students' enjoyment.
The Fieldstock tradition is now "pretty well integrated" into Dartmouth culture, Sha said.
