February 5–11, 2009, Number 528
Houghton . . . the Final Frontier
I know the saying usually goes “space, the final frontier”, but if you think about it . . . Houghton has become the new “final frontier.” With Houghton recently receiving a blast from space, it has become a home for aliens and other space creatures to take over where snow piles and drifts use to be. This year’s Winter Carnival has finally arrived and campus is coming alive. Events have been going on since the beginning of the spring semester with statue building, student games, and other traditional Winter Carnival events. The Winter Carnival 2009 website contains information about the events as well as history, queen’s coronation, and more. The student organization known as Blue Key is in charge of the events surrounding Winter Carnival, as such, information about stage revue, 2009 special events, statue locations, and more can be found on their homepage.
As tradition goes, the all-nighter begins on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Students will be working on statues, putting all the last minute details and ice work into place. Campus is spirited by music, food, putt-putt golf (thanks to Michigan Tech Pep-Band), and so much more. Walking through the crowds the atmosphere is electric with people having a great time and enjoying all there is to see. If you’re looking to continue the festivities, but need an opportunity to warm up, there will be a chance to listen to some great music inside the walls of the Memorial Union Building (MUB). The Big Band Bash will be taking place from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. with music from various local bands. Students can then vote for their favorite group. Refreshments, in the form of hot chocolate and cookies, will be available as well. Wednesday night is the best time to be on campus when you’re looking to experience some of the greatest aspects of Winter Carnival. The all-nighter officially ends at 8 a.m. Thursday morning with judging of the statues beginning at 9 a.m.
Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there, oh no…the festivities of Winter Carnival last all through the weekend. Stage revue takes place on Thursday evening: an event in which student organizations perform skits. Starting at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., this year’s stage revue will feature comedian Ryan Reiss. A whole storm of events is taking place as well, including snow volleyball, the yooper sprint (snowshoe race), downhill skiing, tug-o-war, and snowboarding. The festivities finish up on Saturday with the awards ceremony in the afternoon and then the torchlight parade, fireworks, and the snowball dance take place later in the evening.
Most of the statues are located on or near campus, making it very easy to walk through and see the statues. However, there is another snow statue located in Hancock that I highly recommend people visit as well. Many statues are constructed over night as some student organizations build all-nighter statues. There will be plenty to see when one comes to visit and the incredible imaginations of the students will be overwhelming, in a good way.
All of the students put so much time and effort into these creations that it literally turns campus into an astonishing winter wonderland. This year, there’ll be many alien creatures, rockets, and out of this world creations making this blast from space a weekend to remember. I also encourage anyone coming up to visit to get out and cheer on broomball games through the IRHC league that will also be taking place throughout the course of this week. With so much to do in terms of Winter Carnival events, IRHC broomball, and Men’s Division I Hockey (against Colorado College) everyone who comes to visit will have a great time.
I could keep going, but I don’t want to give everything away. So, if there are any questions or comments about this article, please direct them to my personal email address. Any suggestions for future articles are welcomed. I hope everyone who comes to experience Winter Carnival has a great time and enjoys every minute of it. It truly is a unique part of the University and should be experienced at least once by everyone!
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885