The 95th annual Winter Carnival weekend kicks off Thursday at 7 p.m. with opening ceremonies that promise to be bigger and better than ever before. This year's unveiling of the snow sculpture will include explosions, fireworks and everyone's favorite villains -- pirates. A flame juggler and a twirler with flaming batons will lead the ski team processional from Robinson Hall to the Green.
"Unless the weather is terrible, there will be surprises to start off Carnival with a bang," Carnival co-chair Jeffrey Bate '07 said, pun intended. The improved Opening Ceremonies are an effort to get energy back into Winter Carnival, he said.
The added excitement will accompany the standard rituals of the opening ceremony, including the ski team processional, a performance by the Dartmouth Aires and remarks from College President James Wright, the Winter Carnival chairs, the snow sculpture chairs and the ski team captains. Opening Ceremonies chairs Jacqueline Loeb '08 and Ada Graham '08 will emcee the event.
"Winter Carnival is a really big thing, and we think it should start with a really big thing," Loeb said. "We're hoping to increase attendance this year."
"We want to make the opening ceremonies more of a presentation rather than a chain of speeches," Carnival co-chair Whitney MacFadyen '07 said.
In past years, the central snow sculpture was neglected during Winter Carnival; this is the third year that efforts have been made to revive the tradition.
"There was a concerted effort to save the snow sculpture and, yes indeed, the snow sculpture is back," Bate said. "We wanted it to be a more permanent fixture on the Dartmouth Winter Carnival scene."
According to Bate, the improved opening ceremonies will be a great way to unveil the snow sculpture to students and the surrounding community, as well as a way to say, "Welcome to Winter Carnival!"
Two classic Winter Carnival events will take place Thursday, before the kickoff even transpires. At 2 p.m., the Carni Classic cross-country ski race will be held at the Dartmouth Cross Country Ski Center. No experience is necessary to participate.
"It's a fun way to kick off Carnival with funny costumes and people who don't know how to ski," Bate said.
The events continue at 4 p.m. on the Green with the Human Dogsled Race. Teams of four pull a sled with one rider in this event, and of course, participants sporting costumes will be present.
True to the Dartmouth spirit, students began partying Wednesday evening, getting an early, though unofficial, start to Carnival weekend. Traditional Greek Carnival parties continue tonight and into the weekend, including themed events such as Friday night's "Early '80s" at Sigma Nu fraternity and Saturday night's "Disco Inferno" at the Tabard co-ed fraternity.
