Sophmore Lionel Musoni pedals a go-cart at Springfest on Saturday

by Jonas Shellhammer

photos by Will Gold

Even in the face of weather marred by gray skies and the occasional rain drop, many people attended Earlham College’s annual Springfest last Saturday. However, many students expressed dismay over the fact that the majority of the event was held inside.

Sophomore Dylan Kyriacopoulos was the main staffer at the slip and slide, a position he took when Director of Student Activities Rich Dornberger asked the ultimate frisbee and rugby teams for staffing assistance. According to Kyriacopoulos, the worst-case scenario for Springfest was avoided. “The real disappointment was that the slip and slide was gonna be inside, but I guess they figured out a way to put it outside,” he said.

However, Kyriacopoulos still thought the event was a bit of a let-down. “It’s so much better when it’s outside,” he said. “It’s a bummer for everyone, especially the seniors. Now they have to come back for the next one.” Kyriacopoulos also mentioned that the original plan for Springfest had included a waterslide, but that it had been cancelled once the weather turned sour.

The slip n’ slid outside the Wellness Center where Springfest was held on Friday.

The other attractions, which included two bouncy castles, an inflatable obstacle course, a popcorn stand, corn hole, and several pedal cars, were housed inside Trueblood Fieldhouse. Attendance indoors was substantially less than in past years, when Springfest was outside. Sophomore Daniel Vidos offered his views on the indoor aspect. “It’s freaking inside, the whole point is that it’s outside. But they still showed resourcefulness,” he said in reference to what kinds of entertainment had been made available.

Senior Nadia Robinson also enjoyed most of the indoor attractions. “The little drive-y bikes seem really fun,” she said, but mentioned that her favorite part of Springfest was the tables in the lobby of the Athletics and Wellness Center. “The arts and crafts sale is great. I got a really cool pair of earrings from Mica Whitney,” she said.

One of the students with a table in the lobby was senior Samuel Wein. An eclectic array of trinkets including NERF guns of many shapes and sizes were for sale at his table. Wein explained that he decided to take Springfest as an opportunity to sell off some of the various things he had collected over his four years at Earlham. Wein said that he will be moving to California after graduation and did not have room to bring all of his stuff with him. “Hence,” he said, “I am selling them at greatly reduced prices.”

One student that did not attend any of the day-long event’s attractions was senior Christopher Meserve. When asked why, he said “I guess I didn’t go because it was inside, and it’s always more fun when it’s outside and there’s more people and they can have music.” Meserve added that, even though the weather was less than perfect, he would still rather spend a spring day outside. “It’s too dreary inside,” he said.