The Programming Board will hold a Block Party and Inaugural Ball tomorrow night as a continuation of the celebration of James Wright's inauguration as the 16th president of the College.
More than a dozen events will take place simultaneously across the campus from 7 to 10 p.m. The Inaugural Ball will be held in Collis Common Ground immediately following the events, and will continue until 1 a.m.
Wright and his wife Susan will be around the event throughout the evening and will attend the Ball at the end of the evening, according to Associate Director of Student Activities Linda Kennedy.
Students can receive their Block Party button and programs which will include the times and locations of the events at the Collis Center, Kennedy said.
"It's like a First Night Celebration like a lot of cities have over New Year's [Eve]," Kennedy said.
Co-Chair of the Programming Board Brian Sleet '00, who organized the Block Party, said Wright was eager to participate in the event and meet students.
"I found President Wright to be really enthusiastic to do just about anything we asked him to do with students," Sleet said.
The Block Party's events will include performances by the Dog Day Players, the Dartmouth Chinese Dance Troop, Sheba and Ujima -- the African American Society's dance troupe -- and cultural events organized by La Alianza Latina and Milan.
Sleet said the final locations for some of the events have not been finalized, but they will include the Women's Resource Center, Cutter-Shabazz Hall, Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the Roth Center.
"We're hoping the different performers will attract diverse groups of people to places they may not have thought about going before," Sleet said.
Kennedy said the Programming Board is expecting between 700 and 1,000 students to attend the swing ball, which will feature a "harvest theme" and performances by The Barbary Coast and Spaceship Earth, a professional jazz and funk band.
