My remaining posts are probably going to start taking on a similar theme as I run through many “lasts” in my Harvard career, but this Friday marked a pretty important one: my last Dunster Formal! Reading period is always filled with end-of-the-year activities, and one of the major traditions is that each house hosts its own formal dance. Dunster’s spring formal is always held in the courtyard under a tent, which is a really fun alternative to many of the other events that are held at venues downtown Boston, both because it saves us the commute and allows us to really enjoy the beautiful space. The night started out with a champagne reception in our Junior Common Room, and my roommate’s brother entertained us for an hour with his (lovely!) piano skills. We then moved into the courtyard for a long night of dancing, which ended up being SUPER fun.

House formals are always a blast because they’re generally very low key: students will go with or without dates, and while everyone does get dressed up there’s no expectation of wearing anything uncomfortable or overly fancy. As my roommates and I were getting ready, shoe selection was determined by whether we could wear them for a whole night on the dance floor (read: flats). The formals are also attended by all members of the House, including new freshmen who just got into Dunster, tutors, the Resident Dean, and our House masters! It was great being able to see everyone under one roof, and many of us spent the weekend recapping the formal’s highlights.

Enjoy some pictures below!

The courtyard also got “dressed up” for formal

Party favors!

Admittedly really bad shot, but gives you an idea of what the tent looked like!

Goofing off with moose “antlers”

As is always the case, reading period and finals have once again snuck up on me this semester – and per usual, the week has been jam packed with all sorts of events, meetings, and assignments. While reading period is meant to be a “break,” a time when students can catch up on end-of-the-semester assignments and start studying for exams, it always ends up turning into a really crazy time of year, both because of all of the fun, social events going on and because of the immense amounts of work we’re all expected to do. Over the next week, I’ll be finishing a 25 page term paper, plus another 10 page paper, plus two take home finals, plus a problem set, plus an application for thesis approval… You get the picture. On the upside, though, I’ve gotten to break up the week with various events and wanted to take this blog post to highlight just one – the Dunster formal.

Each of the 12 Houses has a formal each semester, and Dunster’s spring formal happens in a tent in our courtyard. We call it “Beltane,” after a Gaelic spring festival celebrated in Ireland. The hallmark of the event is the IMMENSE amounts of flowers that decorate the inside of the tent, which really makes the whole thing feel like a spring festival. This year, I spent a few hours in the morning making the flower arrangements that got hung around the room and constructing a flower arch to go above the door. My roommate is HoCo (House Committee) Chair and therefore was in charge of planning the entire event, so it was fun to be able to help her out for a bit and gain some appreciation for how much work goes into preparing events like this (read: it’s a LOT).

My roommate decorating the tent!

Putting up the lights and lanterns

The night started out with a reception in the Dunster Junior Common Room, and then everyone moved outside for dancing and some food. We had a swing band for the first hour, but then music switched over to a DJ – both were super good! While some people will bring official dates to House formals, students for the most part tend to go with roommates or groups of friends, which makes for a really fun vibe on the dance floor. Also, while the majority of people at each formal are from whatever House is hosting it, we can all go to each other’s formal, which means there’s a nice mix of people there. The House formals are definitely one of my favorite things that go on around campus – such a fun reminder of how excited I am about Dunster and what a great community of people live here. I remember going as a freshman, right after I’d gotten into the House, and starting to get so excited about moving up to an upperclassman House – glad to see that Dunster’s lived up to expectations!

Beltane!

And just for fun: pre-Beltane, freshman year – with my blocking group! (well, 6/8)

Now, back to the paper writing! Wish me luck!