Finals approach, deadlines edge closer and students find free time increasingly spare, but LSU Campus Life is determined to give University students one last hurrah before they leave for break.
The annual Holiday Spectacular is set for tonight from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at LSU’s Union Theater.
“It’s really a celebration of community,” said LSU Campus Life associate director of marketing and communication Margo Jolet. “It’s centered around the holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but it’s really about coming together as Tigers one last time for the semester.”
Jolet, whose involvement in the event is primarily centered on marketing, cited Campus Life associate director for special events Michelle Lowery’s hard work as an important factor in the success and preparation of this year’s event.
Significant this year, as every year, will be the lighting of the traditional LSU Staff Senate sponsored Christmas tree, looming unlit over the Parade Ground until tomorrow night. However unlike in the past, this year’s tree will remain on University grounds for the entirety of the calendar year and the foreseeable future.
“It’s both more environmentally and financially sustainable,” Jolet said.
Tonight will mark the first time LSU will decorate a tree that has been planted by the University.
The African American Cultural Center’s Kwanzaa celebration, or “Pre-Kwanzaa,” as coordinator LaKeitha Poole calls it, will again play a large part in this year’s Spectacular.
Kwanzaa, an African American holiday that celebrates unity, culture and family, is an important part of the AACC’s focus every year, and this year is no different.
“This year, we’re going to have a focus on community and the spirit of Kwanzaa,” said Poole. There will also be a TED Talks shown by Lehigh University professor Kashi Johnson, followed by an overview of what Kwanzaa is and finally by a traditional Kwanzaa feast.
“It’ll be a great place for people to come together for good food and company,” she said.
The success of this year’s event will rest largely upon the work of Jolet, Lowery and the rest of Campus Life. The organization has worked as of late to bring together many of LSU’s smaller holiday traditions and to make the Holiday Spectacular somewhat more of a spectacle.
From Pre-Kwanzaa to the Staff Senate’s Holiday on Campus children’s event to the LSU President’s Late Night Breakfast at both dining halls, the goal has been to condense these individual pieces into a single event for students, faculty and staff.
The event will feature a series of musical performances, including a scene from “The Nutcracker” by the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, an excerpt of Theatre Baton Rouge’s “A Christmas Carol” and a vocal performance by reigning Miss Louisiana and Baton Rouge native Lacey Sanchez.
“We’re trying to make this a huge piece of campus tradition,” Jolet said. “Something that people plan their schedules around.”