Hanover's weather gods may be behind in snow production this year, but Greek organizations across campus are gearing up to provide students a broad array of nighttime events for Winter Carnival weekend.
The fraternities, sororities and coeds try to coordinate their big parties around each other's events so that students will have a good party option every night of the weekend, Gamma Delta Chi fraternity social chair Austen Fletcher '12 said. GDX hosted a dance party on Thursday night.
The Friday night of Carnival is traditionally the night Alpha Delta and Theta Delta Chi fraternities host large parties, but both fraternities are still on social probation for Fall term pledging violations.
Students will have other options, as Chi Gamma Epsilon, Kappa Kappa Kappa and Sigma Nu fraternities and Alpha Theta coed fraternity plan to host dance parties on Friday night, according to representatives from each house.
Chi Gam's dance party, "The Original Dance Party," will feature a DJ and dancing on both the first floor and basement of the house, according to Chi Gam social chair Michael Dimitrief '12. The party will run from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
"We expect it to be packed, as it is every year," Dimitrief said in an email to the Dartmouth.
Tri-Kap's dance party will sport the same theme as this year's Carnival Candyland and will run from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., Tri-Kap social chair Chris Woods '13 said.
"We expect attendance to be fairly high, but we've handled large numbers before," Woods said. "We usually have a dance party every big weekend, so it shouldn't be too much to worry about."
Although the party will be themed, students are not expected to dress up, and Tri-Kap is not planning to decorate the house, Woods said.
"Themes are good to put in the blitz we send to campus and for the posters we'll design," Woods said. "We have in the past done themed dance parties, but usually we reserve decorations for semis."
Sig Nu will host its "Original '80s Party" from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., as they do every big weekend, according to Sig Nu social chair Rob Wolfe '12.
Alpha Theta will host its Seven Deadly Sins party from 10 p.m to 1 a.m. on Friday, according to Alpha Theta social chair Casey Bradshaw '13.
The event has been a house staple for almost 10 years and is open to all, Bradshaw said. Costumes are encouraged.
The festivities wrap up on Saturday night with Chi Heorot fraternity's "Kountry Kwencher" party and Tabard's "Disco Dance" party, according to Heorot vice president Alex Tarnoff '12 and Tabard president Chris Valleau '12.
"In the fall, we have Octogafest' as our big themed party and in the winter, we have Kountry Kwencher,'" Tarnoff said. "It's a country-themed dance party."
Heorot expects to have two to three days of tails during Carnival weekend, but "Kountry Kwencher" is the only event the fraternity is hosting that is open to all of campus, according to Tarnoff.
There will be country music playing for tails before the dance party begins and the music will switch over to a regular dance mix around 11 p.m.
"It's usually a fun time," Tarnoff said. "The brothers will bring out their jorts and flannels. Some people get pretty into it."
Heorot expects a big crowd for "Kountry Kwencher," but because Heorot is farther away from many residence halls than Webster Avenue, the weather during Carnival weekend could affect turn-out, Tarnoff said.
"There will be a negative impact if it's absurdly cold out, but besides that, the house size is really the only limiting factor to how big the party can get," Tarnoff said.
The Tabard's "Disco Dance" party will start at 11 p.m., and guests are invited to come dressed in theme, according to Valleau.
For those looking to take a break from the dance parties on Webster Avenue, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity will host "Bud & Peanuts" on Saturday night, according to Phi Delt social chair Jacob Wijnberg '12.
The party is open to all of campus and should start around 11 p.m., Wijnberg said.
"It's about all the name implies," Wijnberg said. "Budweiser. Peanuts in the shell. Just hanging out and drinking. Enough nuts to last a lifetime."
The nuts are a big crowd draw, and the house is usually "cleaned out" by the end of the night, according to Wijnberg.
The festivities started Wednesday night with "Tackies," a party that Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority hosts once a term for big weekends.
Students attended clad in flair unusual items of clothing from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to KDE social chair Claire Monagan '12.
"Basically, it's an open party, and we just get a few kegs," Monagan said. "A good tackies outfit might be a blazer with big shoulder pads paired with sparkly spandex and something on your head. Or some baggy Aladdin-style pants are great, too."
The outfits are "generally ranging," and students are encouraged to express themselves through what they wear, Monagan said.
Everyone is invited to dress in theme, though costumes are not required to attend the party at KDE, Monagan said.
"Sometimes people are hesitant to come because they're not sure if they should dress in theme, or if only the sisters wear tackies," Monagan said. "Nobody really cares. The sisters will all wear tackies, but we just want people to come and have fun."
The Tabard coed fraternity hosted its Tabard Lingerie Show on Wednesday night, an event the house hosts each big weekend to promote self-expression and positive body image, according to Tabard president Chris Valleau '12.
The event is open to everyone on campus, Valleau said.
On Thursday night, GDX hosted a dance party from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., Fletcher said. There was dancing in the basement and pong in the "pit," Fletcher said.
"We're hoping attendance will be pretty good if some people come out to celebrate Carnival that don't always go out on the weekends," he said before the event.
Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, Sigma Delta sorority and Phi Tau coed are not planning any special events for Winter Carnival, according to Beta social chair Peter Hill '13, Sigma Delt social chair Hannah Jeton '12 and Phi Tau president Leah Nicolich-Henkin '12.
Zeta Psi fraternity is not planning any special events, but will be open all weekend, according to Zete president Travis Cramer '12.
Alpha Phi Alpha, Bones Gate, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, Psi Upsilon and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities did not respond to inquiries by press time.
