St. John's Socialite: St. John's 2011 Winter Carnival

Wednesday, December 7, was a day filled with Christmas fun thanks to the festivities of St. John's 21st annual Winter Carnival. Activities began at 11am in the DAC, where the Student Government 'elves' helped host a Santa's Worskshop event. My friend Amber and I were so anxious to enter that we got on line about fifteen minutes before it began, and we were thrilled to be one of the first few to enter. Other friends soon joined us in decorating Christmas cookies and Santa hats, and later a group of us went downstairs to the Christmas tree and took pictures with Santa, who wished us the best of luck on our upcoming final exams!

Me with a group of InterVarsity friends (Sasha, Alice, Dan, and Aleena)
at the Santa's Workshop event

Me and InterVarsity friends Trisha (left) and Amber (right)
with the plate of cookies we decorated

Our Cute Christmas Cookies
(left to right: Trisha's snowman, my star, and Amber's snowman)

Me and InterVarsity friends Sasha, Trisha, Dan, and Stacey with Santa
(This pose was actually chosen as the STJ Campus Activities
Facebook page profile picture in December!)

Me with what I call my "Herricks Extended" group of friends (as a number of them came from Herricks High School in New Hyde Park) and Santa

In the evening, I headed over to the St. Thomas More Church on campus for the Winter Carnival Community Mass, for which I sang in the Music Ministry Choir, a group I sing (or sometimes play the flute) with for every Sunday evening service. It was so wonderful to share in the excitement for the arrival of Christmas with everyone who came, including a large number of alumni and their families.

After mass, we all headed to the Great Lawn for the Christmas tree lighting and Grucci fireworks display. Although it was pouring that night, it couldn't dampen anyone's Christmas spirit, and the show would still go on. My friend Charlotte (who sings in the Music Ministry Choir with me) and I were so happy to find a little spot we could fit in right at the fence with a perfect view of the tree and lawn, which was an extra special find considering the crowds of people that were present. We both were very excited as we helped countdown to the tree lighting along with the crowd and Student Government leaders, and were in awe as we watched the stunning St. John's light show and fireworks display for the first time (We are both freshman.).

Above is a video I took of the countdown to the tree lighting

and the beginning of the fireworks show, and below are some of my

prettiest pictures of the whole display!

After the fireworks, many of the viewers made their way to Marillac Terrace for the "Red and White Community Dessert Party." Because there was such a big crowd, I had to wait on line in the rain, not sure if my friends and I would be able to make it in; thankfully, we did. It was at this party that students could pick up the Student Government Inc. (SGI) 21st annual commemorative giveaways, which this year were SGI mittens and a Johnny Thunderbird ornament for our Christmas trees. There were also many cakes, pies, and desserts - too many to choose from - and I enjoyed spending the night with a large group of my InterVarsity friends, listening to the Voices of Victory choir sing of our Savior's birth, and sharing our relief that classes were over for the semester!