Students, Staff Relax Outside at Annual Springfest

Lured outside by inflatable castles, cotton candy, plastic tattoos and face paint, several thousand students put away their books yesterday afternoon to attend the 11th annual Springfest.

Under sunny skies, students munched on burgers provided by Harvard University Dining Services. They listened to the music of student bands—Chester French, Natural Progression, the Blanks and Call The Cops—which played from noon until 4 p.m. A crowd of enthusiastic supporters grooved to the medley of rock and indie tunes, while others chatted with friends or investigated the other attractions.

The Environmental Action Committee (EAC) organized a series of displays in honor of Earth Day, instructing students on energy conservation. Fun Ventures—an event management company from Stoneham, Mass.—provided the inflatable rides and art activities. Thirteen student groups, from the Harvard Outing Club to Magic Society to Chinese Yo-Yo Club, set up additional booths around the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) Quad, where the festivities took place.

The event fell during pre-frosh weekend, which brought about 1,100 prospective students to the zone of excitement.

“It’s good that pre-frosh have the opportunity to attend the event. This will give them a realistic perspective on the typical Harvard weekend,” joked Undergraduate Council representative Jack P. McCambridge ’06, who coordinated this year’s Springfest.

McCambridge said the council had anticipated all 6,500 undergraduates would attend Springfest, in addition to 4,000 faculty, staff and their families.

The official count of Springfest-goers came to 13,500, he said.

“The College is the main focus obviously,” McCambridge said.

This year, the office of University President Lawrence H. Summers provided all of the funding for Springfest.

FAIR FULL OF AIR

Inflatable rides have become an essential ingredient of Springfest. Bouncy Boxing, in which opponents on an inflated stage box each other with oversized mitts, drew scores of students. Other favorites included Human Foosball, Pedestal Joust, Whirly Bird, Rocky Mountain and an inflated climbing wall.

Wayne P. Litton, the owner of Fun Ventures, said this was the third consecutive year his company had provided the rides and games essential to Springfest.

“The venue has been exactly the same for the past three years, nothing’s changed,” Litton said.

“And the attitudes are sky-high. The quad becomes a beautiful fantasyland for a day. The event is free, keep that in mind,” he said—not accounting for the University’s nearly $40,000 annual tuition.

Litton said that anyone over the age of 16 could participate on any of the rides.

“I really want to play Human Foosball,” Kip P. McDaniel ’04 said. “It’s so anti-Harvard, it’s perfect.”

Alejandra Guzman ’07 said she thought the rides were geared towards Harvard students more than to younger children.

“With something like boxing, you can vent all your frustrations on your professors on your fellow students,” she said.

Male prospective students seemed particularly enthused by the carnival-like atmosphere.

Kyle D. Basques of Great Falls, Va. tackled his new friend, Julian Han of London, in a rough game of Bouncy Boxing.

“This is so exhausting,” complained Basques, who had been wielding three-foot-long boxing gloves in the direction of Han’s head.

“You forget about the crowd of people staring and you just want to fight,” said Basques, who added that he will be matriculating at Harvard in the Fall.

Like Basques, Han said he was accepted via early action, and felt confident in his choice to attend Harvard next year.

“It’s good to see Harvard students not studying for a change. I’ve enjoyed [Springfest] so much,” Han said.

Pedestal Joust also attracted a crowd of male pre-frosh.

Sam J. Lewallen and Robert D. Cecot, classmates at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, laughed as they battled each other with three-foot-long padded staffs.

“The energy, the life of the people are just really crazy. It’s so fun,” Cecot said after the battle, which ended with both competitors flat on their backs.

Liz H. Bayliss looked on and laughed at the pair.

“I’ve loved having the chance to hang out with my future classmates and get to know them,” she said.

Bayliss, of Greenwich, Conn., said she is still deciding between Harvard and Duke.

“Springfest definitely is a plus for Harvard, although I am a huge fan of Duke basketball...I haven’t yet made up my mind,” she said.

An ambulance waited in front of the MAC in case any Pedestal Jousts went too far. But nurses at the University Health Services (UHS) first aid booth said only one minor injury occurred during Springfest.

“This was nothing like last year, when a tent blew over. Several students received minor scrapes. One 12-year-old girl even broke her leg while jumping on one of the rides in a way she wasn’t supposed to and had to go to Mount Auburn [Hospital],” said Kathleen L. Tracy, chief of nursing at UHS.

Tracy said her two sons—ages 10 and 13—attended Springfest, along with her husband and 90-year-old mother.

A SOBER AF-FAIR

Although students praised this year’s Springfest, they bemoaned the lack of delicious snacks or “perishable food” forbidden by the city’s health code.

“Last year was better because there was ethnic food and ice cream,” Cece Keefe ’07 said. “But the event is totally worth attending. We need something like this once in awhile.”

Amanda M. Grosvenor ’04 said Harvard’s Springfest relied on stricter rules than most colleges’ spring festivals.

“I’m a transfer, and my old school definitely centered its event around drinking,” she said, declining to name her original college. “But this is still fun.”

Council representative Sean N. Karamchandani ’05, who is also a member of Quincy House Committee, said he had worked with other council members to arrange an “Alternative Springfest” in Quincy Courtyard, complete with 15 kegs.

“Despite our best efforts we couldn’t make alternative springfest happen. Our courtyard was booked, and so were the others,” Karamchandani wrote in an e-mail. “We’ll come back strong next year though, don’t you worry.”

McDaniel said he was not “too bummed” that alcohol was not served at Springfest.

“It would be terrible to have all the families here and the seniors getting trashed,” McDaniel said. “It would be a gong show if there was booze.”

“Frankly, it’s just not my choice,” McCambridge said of the dry atmosphere, though not referring to the weather. “I’d love to have alcohol [at Springfest], but we have to accommodate the people attending the event.”

FAIRLY REPRESENTATIVE

Away from the rides and food, student groups set up tables to promote their causes and interests.

Zachary D. Liscow ’05, co-chair of EAC, said he had purchased 350 Nalgene bottles for the 15 Earth Day booths in Winthrop Courtyard.

“[The Nalgenes] were all gone in 25 minutes,” Liscow said. “I think people remembered them from last year and rushed to get them...but as you can see, there are still people here. What I really want is for people to walk away knowing that they as individuals can make a difference.”

Harvard Friends of Amnesty International representative Elisabeth H. Rivers ’05 said tabling was relatively easy as she could still enjoy “the best parts of Springfest”—the food and the music—while garnering signatures for her cause.

“The best part of Springfest is seeing the community come together,” Rivers said. “It’s the only time you see all of the Harvard student body in once glace.”

—Staff writer Elena P. Sorokin can be reached at sorokin@fas.harvard.edu.