During Dartmouth's Winter Carnival, it's easy to believe that the College has a monopoly on winter college weekends.
But five neighboring colleges in the Northeast also hold winter carnival celebrations: Bates College in Lewiston, Maine; Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt.; St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.; the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. and Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.
Each year the Dartmouth ski team spends six consecutive weekends competing at each of the five neighboring colleges and Dartmouth. While the skiers are busy racing on the slopes, the students are holding their own winter carnivals, with the exception of St. Lawrence, whose carnival celebration does not coincide with its ski competition.
The tone and popularity of each carnival differs: Bates last month held a wild "Roaring '20s" carnival, full of drinking and dancing, while St. Lawrence, which will hold their event later this month, expects to hold a "boring" celebration, according to sophomore Nicole Berry, who is in charge of St. Lawrence's carnival.
Ruff Patterson, director of the Dartmouth ski team, said Dartmouth's Winter Carnival stands out from all the other carnivals and that "few resemble" Dartmouth's celebration.
Still, some of these "alternate" carnivals may deserve the attention of Dartmouth's social connoisseurs.
Bates
Armed with a "Roaring '20s" theme, this year's Bates winter carnival was a big hit with the students, according to Claire Lavallee, assistant to the coordinator of student activities.
The Bates carnival was held the weekend of Jan. 19 this year.
Lavallee said Bates' celebration is steeped in tradition and is the second oldest winter carnival in the United States.
This year, the carnival began Wednesday night with "Dinner at the Ritz," a special feast at Bates' dining hall.
Events heated up Thursday night with a bonfire, a skating party and a comedy performance. Friday, students watched skiers compete, sledded with the cafeteria's discarded trays and enjoyed an a cappella invitational, which drew singers from other colleges such as Middlebury and Williams, but not Dartmouth.
Saturday afternoon, Bates held its own version of the "Winter Olympic Games" in which students competed in snowshoeing and snow sculpting competitions.
The weekend climaxed in a semi-formal dance Saturday night, where the students could "drink alcohol and live it up like our forefathers did in the '20s," Lavallee said.
The weekend wound down Sunday, when cartoons were put on for the students, she said.
Middlebury
During the weekend of Feb. 22, Middlebury students will celebrate "MIDD-Winter Night's Dream," a Shakespearean carnival full of winter games and revelry.
"I think we're going to have a really great carnival this year," said Karen Berthiaume, a Middlebury senior who is charge of the carnival.
The last carnival of the six, Middlebury's celebration appears to be one of the most promising.
Vanessa Bergmann, a sophomore at Middlebury, often visits Dartmouth and has attended both of the colleges' winter carnivals.
"I thought they were pretty comparable ... about the same size," Bergmann said. She said Middlebury's formal dance is "a lot bigger" than Dartmouth's, but Dartmouth has a lot more parties and is consequently more wild.
But Virginia Kreitler '98, a transfer from Middlebury, said Dartmouth's Winter Carnival is far superior to Middlebury's. "The Middlebury carnival is not a huge event," Kreitler said. "No snow sculptures, not much to see."
Berthiaume said the winter carnival is Middlebury's largest social event during its academic year and is a "long-standing tradition."
The weekend kicks off Thursday night with a jamboree, including theme dinners, figure skating shows, sleigh rides, fireworks and a candlelight parade of costumed party-goers.
Then students take part in a traditional first night party, this year entitled "Comedy of Errors." Berthiaume said the 20-member carnival board gave it that name because "it gets messy ... people are usually very drunk."
Friday, people attend the skiing races and a coffee house, called "Much Ado About Nothing" because it serves as a time for students to recuperate from the first night party and prepare them for the evening's talent shows and a late-night party, Berthiaume said.
After a day of snow sculpting Saturday, the campus participates in the carnival's ball, "All's Well That Ends Well."
Berthiaume said Middlebury's social houses co-sponsor all the events, but do not hold their own parties during the carnival.
St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence, which has not had a winter carnival in about 10 years, is reviving the tradition this year and will hold its celebration the weekend of Feb. 22.
There used to be a carnival at St. Lawrence for years, and it was considered an important university tradition, said Berry, who is president of the sophomore class and in charge of the festivities.
Berry, who said she is still working out the details of this year's carnival, said, "We just want to get the ball rolling ... get it back in tradition."
The carnival, which is aimed at the sophomore class, will include snow sculpture competitions, a special dinner, performances at a local coffee shop and a broomball tournament. Berry said broomball is very similar like hockey played with brooms.
Berry said she decided to revive the extinct carnival and transform it into a bonding experience for the sophomore class.
"We're trying to promote class spirit and keep everyone together," she said. Berry said she conducted a poll of her classmates to find out how they would like to spend their student activity fees, and the winter carnival won.
St. Lawrence held its skiing competition the weekend of Jan. 26.
Vermont
Annelise Selzer, campus center manager at Vermont, said her school's winter carnival centers around athletic events, rather than raucous parties.
Besides the ski meet, which took place last Friday and Saturday, the beloved Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey team hosted bitter enemy Clarkson University.
Selzer said the two teams share a "big rivalry" and the game was telecast live to certain viewers around the country. Devout Catamounts fans could watch the game from just about anywhere on campus, while carnival personnel were handing out prizes left and right.
Unfortunately for Vermont, the visiting Clarkson team put a damper on the evening -- the home squad dropped a 5-1 decision.
Also on Saturday, students and members of the community engaged in snowshoe volleyball, snowshoe relay races and a figure skating exhibition, including a special performance by the Vermont Children's Theatre on Ice.
Although UVM has a Greek system, this year the fraternities and sororities remained uninvolved with the festivities because of some reorganization within the system, Selzer said.
It was "just one of those years" when houses were "not very involved," she said.
Selzer said the carnival lacked any appreciable number of parties and that alcohol was not a big part of the weekend.
Williams
"Moodi-gras," the name for Williams' winter carnival celebration this year, combines the best aspects of New Orleans' Mardi-gras and Williams' mascot, the purple cow, said George Watson, who is in charge of Williams' carnival.
Watson said he has yet to plan all the details for the celebration, which kicks off next weekend, but he said the carnival would include broom hockey, snow sculpting, a campus-wide party Friday night and a semi-formal Saturday night.
"I've heard we have the best carnival," Watson said. "We're known to have a very well-run carnival ... it will be a great time."
Completely run by students and coordinated by Williams' outing club, the carnival has been a long-standing tradition from "the old days," as Watson described it.
Williams' has no single-sex Greek organizations, but instead has "row" houses, which serve as coed dormitories and social houses. Students will hold several parties at the row houses, where alcohol will be served, Watson said.
