Ripon College Days

There is not a lot of money, but there is a lot of motivation, according to sophomore Drew Davis, the Co-Chair of SMAC's Spotlight committee, which is responsible for organizing WinterFest and SpringFest.

Davis and his Co-Chair, Shane Ebel, say they are dedicated to making WinterFest bigger, better, and setting a strong foundation to make a recurring event as good as its counterpart.

"We're hoping to get something to build on for next year," Davis says. "It's made to be annual."

While the event was originally supposed to be a week-long festival, it will stretch from today until Sunday with everything from Figgie pudding to a great race.

And the theme of this fledging festival will be "Grumpy Old Men," the name taken from the film being shown tonight in Bear Auditorium at 8 p.m.

Searching for a winter film that didn't involve a holiday was tough, but they eventually settled on the film starting Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

"We had an epiphany that we could make the movie work for the theme," Davis explains. Therefore all that is old and all that is grumpy about winter will carry though all of the events this year. "We decided to make winter garb the thread that binds the events."

Although Davis and Ebel say they will do whatever it takes to get WinterFest on the map, they realize they are working within a limited budget.

"The more we use for WinterFest the less we have for SpringFest," Ebel says. "So we are trying to stretch it as far as it goes."

While very little money is being spent on this week's activities in comparison to SpringFest, Davis says the group was frugal by tapping into the many great resources on campus.

"There are a lot of people willing to make this a success, and not just the people in SMAC," Davis says.

But in the spirit of creating a foundation for future years, Davis and Ebel personally designed a traveling trophy especially for the grand event capping off the festivities on Sunday.

The Great Sadoff Race, as it is being billed, will be the one common event in future years of WinterFest and Davis and Ebel decided it needed a trophy to relate its importance.

The annual winners of the relay race will take home a huge trophy that has several tears, some engraving plaques and a place for the winning team's photo; it's topped off with a flexing Greek wrestler.

"It's just amazing, nothing shy of amazing," Davis boasts.

WinterFest Schedule of Events

Today: Movie Night

The 1993 comedy classic, "Grumpy Old Men" will play in Bear Auditorium at 8 p.m. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau star as grumpy old neighbors who have been feuding for over 5o years. Their dislike for each other only gets worse when a female neighbor moves in across the street.

Hot cocoa will be provided by the Commons.

Friday: Grumpy Fan Night

Students are invited to root on the Red Hawks against Illinois College in the Storzer Gymnasium at 7 p.m. An award -$25 in Chamber Cash and a Sash and Crown -will be given to the Grumpiest Fan.

Wear your flannel, big winter hats, and crabby attitudes as the Cheer Squad perfects grumpy cheers.

Saturday: Laughs or Ski Trip?

Saturday will give students the choice of skiing down the slopes of Cascade Mt. in Wisconsin Dells or busting a gut with the comedy of Alexandra McHale.

ROC and SMAC have reserved three vans for students and will pay for their lift tickets. Leaving at 11:30 a.m. and returning at 6 p.m.

McHale is making a return trip to the College and will work for laughs in the Pub at 8 p.m.

Sunday: "The Great Sadoff Race"

Teams of eight will compete in a relay race that will traverse both Upper and Lower Sadoff. A huge trophy goes home with the winners along with 3 large pizzas from Dominos.

While the legs are being kept top secret they will include snow tubes, grapes, and powdered sugar, according to Drew Davis.

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