The sun peeks out from behind fluffy white clouds as the clock strikes three and the annual New England Day festivities begin. But wait, why are the yellow-orange leaves the only moving objects in the Quad?
For the first time ever, IRHA’s New England Day carnival took place in the lower level of the Barone Campus Center last Friday afternoon. IRHA president Christine Papazicos ’09 said the decision was made at 3 p.m. on Thursday in order to avoid the chance of inclement weather and a muddy Quad.
Although the rain never poured, around 800 students did stop by the event to grab some free food and fun, according to IRHA’s programming director, Ashlee Downing ’08.
As a result, IRHA was forced to replace its usual three inflatable games with one, the inflatable bungee run.
“If the winds are over 30 miles per hour, we can’t have any inflatables at all,” said Papazicos.
IRHA replaced the lost inflatables with two last-minute booths that featured a henna tattoo artist and a create-your-own photo magnet.
This year, IRHA also introduced a revitalized menu of barbecue dishes, in addition to the standard ones of previous years, prepared in the BCC cafeteria by Sodexho. The list of options included sausage links with pepper and onions, barbecue pulled pork, tricolor tortellini salad and apple cider.
“Everyone gets sick of burgers and hot dogs,” said Downing, who helped lead the initiative to bring new and more varied options to students.
The New England Day carnival comes as the culmination of Community Pride Week, also sponsored by IRHA.
Events such as penny wars, color wars and a scavenger hunt helped to improve anticipation for Friday’s event.
Each Residence Community Council (RCC) hosted its own booth, manned by the IRHA members from that area.
The two biggest hits of the day were the townhouses’ decorate-your-own candy apple table and Dolan Hall’s decorate-your-own mini pumpkin station.The booth was so popular that it was out of pumpkins by 5 p.m., according to Downing.
Students at the apartment village booth competed in a contest to see who could eat a donut hanging from a string in the fastest time. Winners were treated to a $25 gift card for Dunkin’ Donuts.
At the Loyola booth, students could sign up for a pie-eating contest, with the winner receiving a prize of 15 StagBucks.
Two-year reigning champion of the pie-eating contest, Amandra Klecker ’09, took her third title on Friday by wolfing down a small cherry pie in front of her competitors.
“I warmed up for the race,” she said. “I was eating periodically throughout the day to keep my stomach stretched.”
Although she preferred last year’s competition, when she had to eat an entire apple pie, Klecker said she was pleased with the win. She also offered some words her competitors for next year.
“Second place is the first to lose,” she said.
John Daly ’08, current FUSA vice president, returned to New England Day for his fourth year. He cited the events as a way to escape from academic pressures.
“Especially around midterms, everyone wants to unwind with some good, old-fashioned inflatable fun,” he said.
Daly said his favorite activity was the inflatable bungee run, which he described as a “challenge of physical strength and mental ability.”
However, not everyone was as satisfied with Friday’s event.
Kristen Wingate ’10 felt that last year’s New England Day was better than the one held this year.
She said that IRHA had more activities to partcipate in last year, although the reason for more booths in the past may have been because the event is usually held outside.
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