Winterfest Replaces Jazz Brunch
Children ran around the grass as they chased each other between an interactive snow globe and inflatable maze, while their parents watched with cups of hot chocolate in their hands. This joy marked the advent of a new tradition: Winterfest, replacing Jazz Brunch as Dining Service’s biggest event of the year.
Winterfest was organized by Director of Dining Services Melinda Leonard, Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo and the Assistant to the Principal Leigh Drapeau in order to replace the annual Jazz Brunch, held in February. For three hours, from noon to 3p.m., students, faculty and staff participated in activities both inside and outside of Wetherell Dining Hall.
Activities ranged from arts and crafts, hosted by ESSO Kids Create, and a decorate-your-own cupcakes booth provided by the d-hall staff to an outdoor ice skating rink between Phillips Hall and Wheelwright.
Drapeau noted Leonard’s goal was to create a more interactive event to replace Jazz Brunch. “Jazz Brunch is normally a Dining Services event. [Leonard] wanted to change it up this year and make it into something far more inclusive so that the staff, the faculty, families and everybody could enjoy a day together with the students,” she said.
Leonard added that she wanted Winterfest to connect people in a way that wasn’t just through food. “Instead of the Jazz Brunch of last year, where we created a theme and a menu around that theme, I wanted this event to be more about the activities and the fun factor, and not about the food. I wanted the food to support it, but not be the centerpiece.”
Though the food was not the main focus, Third Cook Jeffrey Brown believed it played a big role in Winterfest. “What I enjoyed the most was the collaboration and the joy that I saw on everyone’s faces today. Together as a team in the kitchen, we came together and tried to produce some good food for everybody,” Brown said. “Now, being out [on the quad] and seeing everybody enjoying [the food] has really been what’s made things special for me.”
Leonard also wanted to make sure people of all ages could have fun. She considered all age groups when deciding what to have at the festival, from very young children to adults. And it paid off. “I was really happy to see participation from everybody, from the faculty and staff and their families, and a lot of the students. It was a great turnout,” said Leonard.
According to Lembo, there was a major difficulty when considering this event. “The weather was the wild card,” she said. “It could have been a blizzard!”
Luckily, the event happened to be on a day with 51-degree weather. “Being in New England in February, I was counting on snow,” said Leonard.
Lower Alexandria Westray greatly appreciated having Winterfest on a day with such good weather. “Winter is already a pretty sad term, and I know people suffer from different levels of seasonal affective disorder. To have an event like this for a few hours on the quad, on one of the warmer days of winter, really brightens spirits and helps lessen the pressure and anxiety of students as finals come up.”
Lower Allison Kim expressed her gratitude for those who planned and helped make this event possible. “It's a culmination of a lot of hard work from everyone, and it really shows,” Kim said. “I also really liked the food; they clearly spent a long time making everything, and they got so many supplies too [for the arts and crafts]. I'm really surprised they managed to pull this off."
Drapeau noted that if Exeter does this next year, administration would plan the timing of the festival to maximize attendance. The three-hour event fell in between the showing of this year’s winter musical “The Secret Garden,” so those who worked on the play had to come early and did not get much time to enjoy the event.
With some of these considerations in mind, Leonard is still thinking on how to improve the event for next year. “I think I need to reflect a little bit more, just enjoy today and let it sink in, but I have some thoughts…I want to hear the feedback from the community, and what they have to say, because that would pretty much direct us as to what changes or modifications we want to make next year.”
Lower Kiesse Nanor, for example, thought that maybe Jazz Brunch and the Winterfest were on two different ends of the spectrum of inclusivity. “Jazz Brunch was something that all of Exeter could participate in, but for this one, I felt like it was more catered towards faculty children,” Nanor said.
Leonard believed that with continued dialogue with students, staff and faculty alike, Winterfest will become “a successful precedent” to fun activities at the Academy.