With dinosaur trivia, gyrospheres, and a film featuring footage of the perennial cold-weather festivities from 1939, this year’s Winter Carnival from Feb. 6 to 9 has its beady eye on the distant past.
“Jurassic Parka: The Carnival Before Time” is the latest in a long line of winter celebrations dating back to 1911.
“It’s really cool to be part of Dartmouth traditions and Dartmouth history,” says Kennedy Wiehle ’25, a film major from Fort Worth, Texas, reflecting on her experience as a Winter Carnival Council co-chair. Also, she says, “it’s a great way to meet new people if you’re trying to expand your circle.”
This year’s festivities will open with themed food, activities, and a photo booth from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Collis Common Ground, hosted by Winter Carnival Council, followed by “dino-mite” trivia sponsored by the Collis Governing Board at 9 p.m.
Dartmouth undergraduates can reserve a free lift ticket for Feb. 6, 7, or 9 at Dartmouth Skiway, which is providing free shuttle service between the ski area and campus every day through March 9.
On Friday, Feb. 7, the winter competitions start—the ski teams’ Dartmouth Carnival will open with alpine racing at 9 a.m. at the Skiway, and Nordic events at 10 a.m. at Oak Hill Outdoor Center.
Also that day, student teams may start carving their ice sculptures between noon and 9 p.m. on the lawns of Collis, Robinson, and McNutt, and attendees can print a Winter Carnival poster with the Book Arts Workshop between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Baker-Berry Library.
Hardy souls can join the polar bear swim from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Occom Pond, weather and ice permitting.
And plenty of cold-weather treats will be on hand—cookies and cocoa, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Roth Center for Jewish Life; s’mores and cocoa with members of the Department of Safety and Security, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in Collis Plaza; and a “dino” dinner at ’53 Commons.
A free screening of Jurassic Park is set for 7 p.m. in Loew Theater, sponsored by the Winter Carnival Council and Dartmouth Film Society, and men’s hockey will face off against Harvard, also at 7 p.m., in Thompson Arena. The evening wraps up with a drag show sponsored by House of Lewan, Collis After Dark, and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, from 8 to 11 p.m. at Collis Common Ground. The show features Dartmouth- and Boston-based performers, a DJ, dancing, and a community catwalk.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, the competitions continue with races at Dartmouth Skiway and Oak Hill Outdoor Center and ice sculpture carving throughout the day, followed by voting on the sculptures from 4 to 5 p.m., and awards at 5 p.m. on Collis Patio.
The Winter Fun Day series, which will run through winter term, will offer outdoor activities, fire pits, and snacks from noon to 5 p.m. at the Dartmouth Outing Club House on Occom Pond. A live raptors show by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science takes flight at 2 p.m. at Collis Common Ground, and, weather permitting, Raptor Relays will be run that afternoon on the Green.
Dartmouth Film Society presents the cult classic Winter Carnival at 7 p.m. at Loew Theater. Shot partially on location at Dartmouth, the 1939 rom-com written by Maurice Rapf ’35 and Budd Schulberg ’36 offers a look at the early days of Winter Carnival.
Also that evening, the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club will put on an exhibition at 7:30 p.m., followed by open skating from 9 to 11 p.m., at Thompson Arena.
New activities are being added as carnival approaches—check the events page for details and updates. And be on the lookout for signs of ancient life.
“We’re hoping to have this whole campus covered in dinosaurs,” says Winter Carnival Council co-chair Noah da Silva ’25, an earth sciences major from Bermuda.
Some will even be tromping around on two feet. The costumes, Wiehle says, “are shipping as we speak.”
* **
There’s still time to pitch in with planning and staffing events. Interested students are encouraged to join the Winter Carnival Council, which meets at 6 p.m. Fridays in Collis 211. For more information, email the council or stop by the Student Involvement Office on the second floor of Collis.
