This year’s Winter Weekend festivities run from Feb. 10 to Feb. 12 and will feature a wide range of activities and events, including sing alongs, comedy shows, therapy dogs and a roller rink.
Christine Noonan, the director of student engagement and activities, described how the success of last year’s event inspired the department to continue the tradition this year.
“Winter Weekend was an arctic tundra on campus so we were really worried that Winter Weekend was going to backfire because it really was a ‘winter weekend’ and no one was going to come out, but we had over 400 students come out to the LDS Center,” Noonan said. “There were students who came on their own and they met people and interacted and connected and found a sense of belonging and a sense of community.”
The goal of the Winter Weekend event series is to include something for everyone to enjoy, Noonan said.
The first day begins at noon with one of the more serious events, the Engineering Job and Internship Fair in the Student Activities Center Ballroom A, and continues with more events in the SAC like the LGBTQ Services Frozen Sing Along in Ballroom B at 6 p.m. and the Weekend Life Council’s stand-up comedy show, featuring Aaron Kominos-Smith, in the Auditorium at 7 p.m.. The comedy show will have free popcorn available and the SAC will also host a Carnevale-Masqueerade Ball in Ballroom A at 7 p.m..
However, Friday’s schedule of events expands past the SAC to places like the Campus Recreation Center, which will have an Xbox Game Night and indoor soccer pick up games, both at 7 p.m.. The Actor’s Conservatory is hosting “The Importance of Being Earnest” later on at 8 p.m. in the Tabler Blackbox Theatre.
Saturday continues the fun with therapy dogs in SAC Ballroom B at 12 p.m. for any student in need of destressing or simply in need of petting a cute and fluffy canine. Then later in the day, there will be a Wolfie Rockets Roller Rink at the LDS Center at 7 p.m..
“The whole concept of bringing a roller rink to campus is a cool concept,” Noonan said. “That one will be my personal favorite of the weekend, aside from obviously puppies.”
There is also an LGBTA Smut Slam on Saturday in the Blackbox Theatre at 7:30 p.m., where students can explore their sexuality through song, poetry and storytelling, and a Staller Center performance of “Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue” at 8 p.m..
Sunday wraps up the festive Winter Weekend with Catholic Mass at the Blackbox Theatre at 5 p.m., and then the anticipated Stony Brook men’s basketball home game against Maine in the Island Federal Credit Union Arena and the Alternative Spring Break Outreach Lip Sync Battle in the SAC Auditorium both at 7 p.m..
