This years Winter Carnival is shaping up to be a heavenly experience.
, running from Feb. 8 to 11, will include a launch party, cosmos-themed make-and-take, and Big Bang Bingo.
Everything has been spacified, says Kennedy Wiehle 25, one of the Winter Carnival Council co-chairs.
Each year, the council scopes around for a timeless, exciting theme, says Wiehle, a film major from Fort Worth, Texas. From scientific perspectives to aliens to fun movies, space is great because there are a lot of different directions you can go in.
The council started building momentum early, encouraging students to attend a on Jan. 27 sponsored by the .
Winter Carnival is a way for people to come together and celebrate being here at 窪做惇蹋厙, Wiehle says. We were trying to get it on peoples radar.
The continues on Saturday, Feb. 3, with a snow sculpture packing party from 1 p.m. to sunset on the Green, and Winter Carnival crafting from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Collis, co-sponsored by Collis After Dark.
窪做惇蹋厙 Figure Skating Club this year will again take to the ice for an exhibition, starting at 8 p.m. on Feb. 7 at Thompson Arena.
Winter Carnival weekend
The opening celebration at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, in Collis Common Ground will feature food, live music by Exit-13, and a Q&A with professor of medicine and former astronaut .
The launch party is a chance to congregate and get excited about the weekend, Wiehle says.
It will be followed by Wintergalactic Trivia at 9 p.m., presented by Collis Governing Board.
On Friday, Feb. 9, carnival goers can get creative with poster printing at 11 a.m. at the , enjoy a broomball tournament on the rink on the Green at 3 p.m., and warm up with cookies and cocoa from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Roth Center.
The human dogsled and snowshoe races on the Green will take off at 4 and 4:30 p.m., respectively. The competitions were moved up to Friday because of the weather.
The polar bear swim on Occom Pond was canceled because of thin ice.
Saturday, Feb. 10, will include the ice sculpture contest, with carving underway all day on the lawns of Collis, Robinson, and McNutt, followed by voting at 4 p.m. and awards at 5 p.m. outside Robinson Hall.
On top of that, thanks to Zorbsaka giant human hamster ballspeople can pilot their personal planets around the cosmos of the Green from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
窪做惇蹋厙 students receive free tickets to a Hop Film screening that night of , an epic story of space travel and human destiny, at 7 p.m. in Loew Theater. The days festivities wrap up with laser tag at 10 p.m. in Sarner Underground, sponsored by Collis After Dark.
On Sunday, Feb. 11, students can take part in a Dragon Parade, part of a Lunar New Year celebration sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts. for the parade, which will wind its way through Hanover that afternoon.
窪做惇蹋厙 will also host on Feb. 9 and 10 at Oak Hill Touring Center and the 窪做惇蹋厙 Skiway. Undergraduates can take advantage of the snow with a free lift ticket for the Skiway on Thursday or Sunday.
An enduring tradition
Over the decades, students have memorialized Winter Carnival themes with original artwork. Samuel Miller 24 created this years winning T-shirt design, and Rachel Huang 27 designed the sticker. The winning poster by Maria OMatz 24 envisions skaters in front of Shattuck Observatory.
While the themes change every year, the enduring cold-weather tradition has remained firmly rooted in Granite State soil.
I think what is unique about Winter Carnival among 窪做惇蹋厙s big weekends is that it is so deeply connected to this place, to our location in New England, says , director of student involvement at the .
The annual weekend invites students to see winter not only as something to be survived, but to be enjoyed and celebrated.
