This past week has certainly been a whirlwind! There’s been so much to see and do, in combination with quickly intensifying course work, that it’s hard to keep track of everything. Last week, we hosted Sexuality Awareness and Sustanability Week on our campus, so the evening were buzzing with different events put on my Fusion and Greenfield, respectively. Unfortunately, because of my classes, I couldn’t attend them all. When there are certain events I know I really want to go to, I try to load my schedule so I get the majority of my work done on all the nights prior. Of course, this means I have to sacrifice certain events and some sleep, but it’s all worth it in the end. For example, last week, I worked later than usual every night so I would feel comfortable not doing any work on Friday–which was when the Earth Games, the Linfield Burn, and our first annual Drag Show too place. Many of my friends were participating in these events so I really wanted to come out and support thier hard work. It’s also just a nice excuse to not do any homework on a Friday night.
Sustainability Week culminated in a fair on Friday–which included the Earth Games and other events. So, I headed over right after I got off work to meet up with my friends. Every year, Greenfield hosts a stuff swap where Linfield students will bring their unwanted or old clothes to exchange or just give away. I usually bring something every year, and don’t pick anything up–but this year I actually forgot to bring anything and ended up taking home a lovely pair a blue heels. It was a nice switch up. All around the stuff swap, Greenfield had set up several booths regarding different sustainable organizations and opportunities in the area for students to learn about or get involved with. Once this kind of wrapped up, we headed over to the IM field where they had set up a obstacle course for those competing in the Earth Games. It was hilarious to see just how competitive everyone got–of course, I enjoyed it more because I wasn’t the one getting muddy and wet. During the duration of the Earth Games, they also had a Local Foods BBQ set up, where we could get veggie burgers and other locally sourced foods for free! It was nice to hang out with my friends on such a beautiful, clear afternoon and enjoy being outside.
Annika, enjoying her burger from the Local Foods BBQ and watching the competitors.
The lovely Amanda, one of the only girls brave enough to compete in the earth games (even though she broke three bikes in the process)
There was a concert scheduled after the event, but my friends and I decided to head to one of their houses off campus to play board games and hang out until the Linfield Burn. I love going to the Burn every year–it’s one of my favorite events to attend. Totem, an art professor, has his class build a large wooden structure during his Jan Term course, every year. This structure is then situtated in the courtyard of the Art Department until the end of April. From there, they move it to the Wellness Field behind the department and host an event to burn it down. People can attach confessions or other little notes to the structure during the event, prior to the moment it’s actually lit of course. This year, we had the best turn out I’ve ever seen. We usually see a lot of people, from all parts of Linfield and the McMinnville community, show up; but this this was the biggest crowd I’ve ever noticed. It’s always exciting to see the structure burn down! People take pictures, dance, and there’s always the occasional boy who tries to jump over the fire once it’s almost burned out. It also usually turns into a potluck as well, the deparment sets out tables and anyone who wants to bring food places it there for everyone to share.
The fire as it burned down, so pretty!
You can see a little of the crowd in this shot, there were so many people there!
I just really loved how the flames spiral around the structure in this image
After the Burn, we headed over to the Drag Show. It was a complete blast! I’ve never been to a drag show before, so this was a huge shock (in the best way possible). Fusion had brought up some professional drag queens from Eugene to host the event and perform, so we got to learn a little bit about drag culture as well. They interspersed professional performances with performances by Linfield students–we even had a group of girls dress in male drag to perform One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”. One of my favorite performances of the evening was a jazzy number by the host’s partner, Renata Flambe. All I’ve got to say about that is–I could never dream of doing that in heels. It was impressive, she was so classy, strong and the choice of song was excellent. At the end of the performances, we crowned a Queen of the evening, pulled from the Linfield performers. Aidan, the current president of Fusion, won! We’re in a Shakespeare class together, which focuses on gender and performance, so it was so amazing to see him crowned.
The professional Queens who came out for the evening!
Aidan accepting his tiara as Queen!
After a full night like Friday, there’s really nothing better than a Saturday morning breakfast at Wildwood. I’ve probably talked about it before, but I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy going there. My friend, Robin and I, went together, and then headed to La Casa Verde–which is a larger, community based Sustainability fair in the downtown area of McMinnville. It happens once a year, in conjunction with Earth Week/day, so it’s a lot of fun to visit and see who’s volunteering, what booths are there, or what’s happening. They always have live music and a chicken coop race, not to mention it’s right next to the Saturday Market in the Granary District.
My delicious breakfast at Wildwood, nothing beats their omelettes or scrambles on a Saturday morning.
We ended the day by studying in one of the local cafe’s. I love packed weekends. It gives me a nice break from having a strict schedule and makes me feel like my deadlines are a little less drastic. It’s so important to take these breaks during the school year. Personally, I don’t think that someone can work at their peak if they keep driving themselves into the ground without reprieve. But for now, I’ve got to hit the books. Tomorrow, I have a performance from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” where I’ll be playing Cesario/Viola! So, I need to prepare for that, a paper on the play and an additional research paper on Ai WeiWei for my postmodern art class. The final stretch of classes in within sight, but there’s a lot to do between now and summer break. I’m looking forward to really taking advantage of the last semester of my junior year and trying to enjoy it as much as possible.