Students grilling at Springfest to raise money for their clubs. PHOTO/David woo ‘09

On Sunday, May 4th, fourteen different Choate clubs took part in the 21st annual SpringFest, sponsored by COSA. The event took place on the outdoor basketball court outside the John Joseph Activities Center (JJAC).

SpringFest is a way for clubs to raise money and raise awareness for their mission. Clubs prepare food, which can be purchased for money or tickets that were bought from COSA. “I think that [SpringFest] really helps a club’s future activities throughout the year,” says Kimberly Lum ’10, a member of the Chinese Club. Co-president of the Spanish Club Leslie Hsu ’08 comments, “[SpringFest] brings a lot of funds for the club and it also gets people to know that there is a Spanish Club and hopefully participate next year.” The president of CALSA, Roy Collins ’09, found the event quite useful as well: “Everyone can get a taste of African culture and we can make money to do different things for our club. [The money] goes to certain things that we do for the club or other things that we will do, like a film night.” The foods available, such as the Korean dessert Pat Bing Soo or the Spanish Club’s sangria, allow students to explore different cultures.

Entertainment was also a component of the afternoon. Andy Lee ’05, Ben Broderick ’05, and Will Tenney ’10 were musical guests, and the Quinnipiac Dancers, a branch of the Boy Scouts, performed a Native American dance. A Japanese classical dancer, Megumi Yoshida, also performed Beni no Funauta (Crimson Boat) and Shimada no Bun Bun (The Geisha of Shimada). Students enjoyed the sunny weather. Many students found that SpringFest provided some needed relaxation. “It’s a good break from studying for APs,” said David Woo ’09.

“I think that it’s the best SpringFest so far,” said Mr. Yanelli. “There’s a variety of entertainment, there’s a huge variety of the international types of food, and of course, the weather was amazing.”