This Saturday night, two Winter Carnival formals will offer students a change of pace from the typical weekend party events. Both the Programming Board and the Afro-American Society have prepared formals that offer students the opportunity to dance, eat and socialize in unique atmospheres.
Programming Board Formal
This year's Winter Carnival Formal, which is sponsored by the Programming Board, will feature the Marsels, a band from Boston.
The group, which also performed at last year's formal, was selected because of their past success, said Kathy Keyser '96, Carnival formal co-chair.
The Marsels' eclectic, danceable repertoire also contributes to their appeal, Keyser said.
The formal, which is open to all Dartmouth students, will be held in Collis Common Ground from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Admission is free, but to enter, students will be required to show their College student identification cards.
Dress for the event is semi-formal.
The formal will adopt the Carnival theme "'Round the Girdled Earth They Roamed: A Prehistoric Carnival."
"We decided not to have a theme since the Winter Carnival itself has one," Keyser said.
"The formal is an event where students can go with all their friends," she said.
In addition to providing music and decoration, the Programming Board will also provide food.
"There will be tables set up for people who don't wish to dance, and there should also be a fire in the fireplace," Keyser said.
According to Keyser, the ambience for the event will concentrate on light and warmth. "We will have lots of candles," she said.
Keyser said approximately 500 people attended last year's event.
The 1994 Winter Carnival Formal marked the event's return after a one-year hiatus.
The Winter Formal was also canceled during the early 1940s because of World War II.
Before coeducation, every Carnival weekend would bring a mass migration of women to Hanover as buses and trains came to the College from area colleges like Smith College and Mt. Holyoke College.
During Winter Carnival, the Hanover Inn used to be transformed into a temporary dormitory for visiting females and many of the campus fraternities would house women as well.
Previous formals and Carnival balls were more elaborate events, often requiring participants to wear elaborate costumes based on that year's theme.
Until 1928, the Carnival Queen pageant was judged at this event.
The Carnival Queen contest was canceled shortly after coeducation was instituted at Dartmouth.
Afro-American Society Formal
The Afro-American Society and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity will be sponsoring their own formal, which will be held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Alumni Hall in the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts.
According to Mia Shelton '98, the theme of the AAm event is "AAmbrosia" and gold and white are the color motifs for the evening.
Ambrosia, "the drink of the Greek gods, is the main contributor to the colors of the formal. White and gold are the royal colors" of the Greek gods, Shelton said.
Music will be provided by DJ and AAm President John Barros '96 and DJ D-Cyphr, Derek Smith '96.
Shelton said "the music for the formal will include hip-hop, rhythm and blues, reggae and calypso."
In addition to the dance, Kappa Alpha Psi will be having a step show, Shelton said.
"We are inviting Greek organizations from surrounding communities, so it might be sold out," she said.
"People will attend this formal because it has a very interesting theme, because of the good music that will be played, the lip-synching contest, [and] the stepping," Shelton said.
Tickets for the event are $8 a couple and $5 dollars per person.
