The decorated Deerfield Day dragon sits completed, ready for burning. PHOTO/Ian Morris

As the Deerfield Day pep rally approached, members of the Choate community were busy with plans for the event. Among these important preparations was the annual building of the Deerfield dragon. A long-treasured Choate tradition, the green Deerfield dragon is prepared for immolation at the bonfire lit after the pep rally.

Immediately following the pep rally on Friday, November 9, the captains of fall varsity teams each lit a torch and led the student body from the Paul Mellon Arts Center across Christian Street to the Girls’ Varsity Soccer field, where the dragon sat awaiting its fiery destruction. The captains then simultaneously tossed their torches into the bonfire, and flames consumed the dragon. In burning the dragon, Choaties prepared to beat the big green.

Mr. Bielizna, the Director of Student Activities, has been in charge of building the dragon each year for the four years he has worked at Choate. He said, “This tradition goes back way into Choate history. Back then, the seniors or other students were in charge of making this, but it died out, so it became the responsibility for me and some other Choate faculty members to make it. So the school’s carpenter builds the wooden shell for us, and I paint and add decorations to it.”

Thanks to everyone who helped make the dragon, this stylizedmonster boasted a large body, almost 8 feet high. It had a hollow mouth, so that “When we burn wood inside the hollow dragon, smoke starts to come out of the mouth, making it look more like a real dragon,” Bielizna added.

Bielizna likes to add other special effects to the dragon as well, maximizing the “crushing Deerfield effect.” He said, “Last year, the Communications Office helped us put some fireworks that shot up as the dragon burned. I had written “Deerfield Pride” in front of it, so people were excited to see it burn. I also used chicken wire to make the wings, making it look bigger. It’s hollow inside, so at a certain point the whole thing just catches fire and starts to burn. We set it up on a platform of wood, so it falls down as it burns.”

The dragon was intricately decorated—the whole body was painted green, and black scales covered the torso. The tail was long and pointy, with many spikes protruding out of it. All of these details added to the joy of the Deerfield dragon’s blazing hot death.

Bielizna noted, “I had to work over a week to make this, but after four years of working at Choate, I really don’t mind the green monster going down.”