Spring Festivities: Green Key Weekend
If you asked any undergraduate student at Dartmouth about their favorite aspect of spring term, most people would say "Green Key." A fun spring concert curated by the student body's Programming Board, Green Key features two famous music artists to perform on Gold Coast Lawn near Tuck Drive. The artists are generally voted on through a survey sent to all the undergraduates' inbox and can range from a variety of different artists. This year, we were able to enjoy Jamaica's very own, Shaggy, and New York rapper Young M.A. Prior to these artists' appearances, one of our student bands, Read Receipts, and a student DJ group, Vivachae, performed.
As the performance this year occurred during the Friday of week 7 out of Dartmouth's 10-week term, I finished all my homework early in the week to fully enjoy the weekend's festivities. My friends and I went to a band performance happening a few hours before the concert, and it was one of my favorite memories to say the least.
The actual concert began at 7pm that day, and the atmosphere felt like a music festival. Bubbles floated around the crowd, strobe lights shone up in the sky, and the speakers reverberated through the air. My favorite part of the concert was hearing Shaggy perform "It Wasn't Me." As a Jamaican, I grew up listening to his songs with my family. Hearing him perform my childhood songs live on my college campus was a highlight of my freshman spring. In this new phase of my life, it seemed as though a little bit of home had paid me a visit.
The next day, a few Greek organizations held barbecues for the campus to enjoy. Students were lounging and mingling as the aroma of cooked food permeated the air. My friends and I went to the Connecticut River afterward, a handful of us either reading, listening to music, or kayaking. At the boathouse by the river, it is easy to use kayaks and canoes for any duration of time at no rental fee. Upriver from the Ledyard Bridge (beyond the boathouse and the swim docks), the Ledyard Canoe Club rents out canoes and kayaks. The Club arranges a number of competitive and leisurely paddling events and provides instruction in the usage of this equipment for PE credit or simply for fun. As I sat at a picnic table by the river, I had a strong sensation of belonging.
My first Green Key weekend was spectacular and reminded me of why I chose to attend Dartmouth. The community of wonderful people that I was surrounded by throughout this weekend allowed me to fully enjoy the campus's spring festivities. Excellent music, exciting social gatherings, and tranquil natural beauty all came together to create an experience that will never be forgotten. In the future, I hope to attend a lot more Green Key weekends.