Last weekend was midterm break, which meant that another long-running Carleton tradition returned to campus: Midwinter Ball. On a campus where jeans and t-shirts are standard uniform, the Ball is a chance for us to, well, the opposite of let our hair down. We’ve got an excuse to dig out those ties and that makeup. The ball has been around since before all of us students were born – ever since the original Viennese Ball in 1980. And it’s been going strong every year since.
The theme this year was the Four Seasons. Or, rather, the Three Seasons, since most of us leave campus for the summer. The Sevy Tea Room was fall, with swing dancing, the Great Hall was winter, with ballroom dancing, and Sayles was spring, with that newfangled modern stuff. The decorations were minimalist, as usual. A few sprays of autumn leaves and colored balloons graced the Tea Room, while there were some strands of lights and a couple of beach balls upstairs. The projection screen in Sayles was new this year. It was mounted onto the Sayles balcony and displayed images of cruise ships, spring flowers, and beaches.
But the Complex didn’t need decorations. The main attraction at the Ball was the students, as we all decked out in our very finest suits, slacks, dresses and skirts. The occasional ironic basketball jersey made its way into the mix, too. The Roseville Big Band provided amazing dance music as usual, from foxtrots to polkas to Latin music. Add to that the fact that nobody lost any toes to frostbite, and a good time was had by all.
