After opening with last night's Racer X concert, Ivies Weekend 2011 is officially underway.
From the Entertainment Board (E-Board) to the Dining Service, students and administrators have been hard at work preparing for the College's annual weekend of campus-wide celebrations, concerts and general revelry.
Four acts are lined up for tomorrow's concert, which is organized by the E-Board.
The Sills Drive gate will open for students at 1 p.m. tomorrow and student band Call it the Truth will start the concert with a 30-minute performance at 2 p.m.
Dr. Dog, a band added to the line-up after Local Natives dropped out due to personal reasons several weeks ago, will take the stage at 3 p.m. for an hour-long performance. Mac Miller is scheduled to follow with a 45-minute set at 4:30 p.m.
Janelle Monae, who is headlining this year's concert, will close the day with an hour-long performance starting at 5:45 p.m.
However, Program Adviser for E-Board and Student Activities Megan Brunmier '08 cautioned that the current lineup has a "pretty loose timeline."
"It's a lot safer to say that the show will start at 2 p.m. and from there it will end at 7 p.m.," she said. "Who knows when [the artists] will perform within that time frame."
Laura Connolly '11, a member of the E-Board, compiled a playlist of songs that will be broadcast between the main acts. The songs choices were gathered via a campus-wide survey sent out to the student body earlier this week.
The E-Board will begin setting up Whittier Field for the concert today at 2 p.m. before regrouping early on Saturday morning to continue setting up. The E-Board also organized and set up the Racer X show last night.
According to E-Board Co-President Morgan Andersen '12, the set-up for the concert will be very similar to last year. Assuming good weather, the concert will again be held at Whittier Field to accommodate the larger stage that the E-Board has contracted.
The concert is organized "extremely similarly to last year," said Andersen. "It was a formula that worked."
"It was undeniably successful last year, both in terms of stage location and accommodating the amount of equipment and the quality of the stage that a show of this magnitude requires," said Brunmier.
"It was so successful last year that in some ways moving it back to the Quad seemed like a clear second to holding it at Whittier again," she added.
Brunmier explained that the show this year is "more intensive" in terms of production than last year's show. The stage will again be placed in the corner of the field to avoid dragging the extremely heavy stage across the track.
The E-Board also situated the stage so that the "surrounding neighborhoods are not receiving the brunt of the sound," according to Brunmier.
"The stage placement allows us to aim the speakers in such a way that the sound is shot back onto campus rather than into the neighborhood," she said.
From an organizational standpoint, Andersen said that the cancellation by the Local Natives was the E-Board's "main hiccup" and that he is crossing his fingers for good weather.
Approximately 13 portable toilets, including one that is ADA compliant, will be available near the Pine Street gate. The E-Board will also increase the number of units closer to the stage this year.
E-Board is working with Dining Service to provide soft drinks and snacks throughout the concert. Dining Service will also serve the artists, whose contracts allow them to make specific meal requests.
Thorne Dining Hall will be closed for dinner on Saturday, though Moulton will be open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Super Snack will be closed both tonight and Saturday night. Express meals will not be open, but students can request a takeout meal at Moulton Union if necessary.
Dining Service will provide barbecue fare at Whittier from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Associate Director of Dining Service Ken Cardone noted that the crowd "hit us at about 4:45 [p.m.] last year," though he added that it "all depends on the schedule of the artists."
Last year, close to 4,800 entrees were served. A Bowdoin ID for students, or cash for guests, is required for the meal. Students will be allowed to use their ID multiple times throughout the barbecue, however.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) is also working with the Dining Service to provide food at the traditional party at Harpswell Apartments tonight and at Pinestock on Saturday evening.
"We're working with Dining to have a large quantity of cheese and snacks and water and sodas delivered to the Harpswell apartments for the Friday night Harpswell party," said BSG President John Connolly '11.
BSG will provide $1,000 worth of free hot dogs from a local hot dog vendor at Pinestock on Saturday, in place of Super Snack. The Office of Residential Life will supply pizza for the event as well.
"Security is definitely going to take point in helping with distribution," said Connolly. "They've been enormously helpful in [ensuring] that everyone has a safe and healthy evening."
For students seeking relief from the traditional revelry of Ivies, ResLife and Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) are offering Alternative Ivies ("A-vies") tonight from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the game room of Smith Union.
BCF and ResLife will serve Chinese food and provide various games and activities at the chem-free event.
"We will also be setting up a Wii, Xbox and possibly a Nintendo," said BCF leader Micah Ludwig '13, who organized the event with Joelinda Coichy '11. "We'll have music playing. It will just sort of be a chance to hang out."
BCF decided to move A-vies from 30 College Street to Smith Union in order to be in a more central location on campus. Last year, approximately 75 students stopped by the event throughout the night.
"I hope it's a place where people can come and feel comfortable," said Ludwig. "[It's] a nice environment where they can have fun and not feel like they have to be drinking to have a good time."
In addition to "A-vies," there are several events—both on and off campus—that are offering students a different type of Ivies Weekend experience. Howell House will provide a root beer keg at a screening of "Inception" tonight at 9:30 p.m. The Bowdoin Outing Club will also sponsor an overnight excursion to Popham Beach and the Coastal Studies Center; the trip will leave today and return to campus in time for the Saturday concert.
Cardone noted that student groups and administrators on all sides have worked hard to ensure that Ivies Weekend runs smoothly.
"There's a lot of setup involved," he said. "It's a pretty complex weekend, but they do a wonderful job."