Every year, Winter Carnival is planned and executed with seeming machine-like precision -- a theme is chosen, a poster is designed and selected, t-shirts are processed, a snow sculpture is conceived and shaped in the middle of the Green, and the weekend is filled with ceremonies, dances and fireworks.
But most of the Dartmouth community and other visitors who enjoy Carnival each February do not realize the hard work undertaken each year by a group of dedicated students -- the Winter Carnival Council.
Tim Chow '96 and Amy Henry '97, co-chairs of the 1996 Winter Carnival Council, have been working furiously for the past several weeks to ensure that the traditions of Carnival come to life this year.
"We're both ultimately responsible for everything that's on the Winter Carnival Council," Chow said.
Henry joked, "We got sucked in."
Last summer, while most Dartmouth students were lying out in the sun and making plans for the next weekend, Chow and Henry began to plan this year's Carnival by choosing a theme.
They decided on "'Round the Girdled Earth They Roamed: A Prehistoric Carnival."
Over the course of the past months, the council has held weekly meetings to monitor progress. Chow and Henry said about 40 to 50 people attended the first meeting, many of whom have contributed time to the planning of Carnival.
Chow said he has been spending 20 to 30 hours a week on Carnival Preparations.
Some of the coordinators' jobs have included putting together a schedule of events, handling merchandising of the posters and T-shirts and organizing the opening ceremonies, torch light parade, speeches and musical performances, according to Chow.
The council also has to make sure that everything for the events gets set up, including lighting and the proper sound equipment, he added.
"The council is working better now then when I first started," Chow said.
Linda Kennedy, advisor to the council, said this is because "Tim is one of the best Carnival chairs ever."
Kennedy said she has met with Chow and Henry almost every day to discuss what money should be allotted for events and to monitor the progress of the committees.
Three of the major committees are the Polar Bear Swim committee, the sculpture committee and the sculpture publicity committee.
Rachel Gilliar '98, who heads the planning for the Polar Bear Swim at Occom Pond, said planning the event this year -- only the second year the event is being held after being brought back from hiatus -- has been easier than organizing last year's Polar Bear Swim.
Gilliar said last year's event, with a crowd of 100 students plunging into the icy depths of Occom, still "went off really well."
Sara Paisner '96, chair of the sculpture committee, said she has spent around 30 hours a week planning and building the sculpture, a giant stegosaurus standing atop a block of ice.
Paisner said keeping people excited about the sculpture despite bad weather is the hardest part of her job.
Elizabeth Bloodgood '96, who is in charge of publicity for the sculpture, said she spent two to three hours a week on average getting letters out to sports teams, Greek houses, clubs, '99s, UGAs and ACs in order to rally workers for the sculpture.
