Winter Carnival Past and Present Discovering some of Middlebury's lost winter traditions

Author: Mike Murali

The winter season has always been known to bring out the competitive side of Middlebury students. From the founding of the College, winter sports have been prevalent on Middlebury's campus. Following this tradition, the introduction of a Winter Carnival following the winter term of 1934 was a step forward for the College, a proclamation that the student body would stay dedicated to the spirit of the season.

The first annual Middlebury Mountain Club Winter Carnival began on Saturday, February 10, 1934, and lasted through the following Monday night. That first winter ball at Middlebury included a performance by the proudly vulgar country artist Larry Pierce and an orchestra accompaniment. The competitions culminated with a tea and dance party at the Middlebury Inn on Monday evening.

Though competitive skiing existed at Middlebury long before the creation of a Winter Carnival, students often found themselves leaving campus to attend the carnivals of other colleges so that they could compete and eventually qualify in the NCAA. The decision to start Winter Carnival at Middlebury eliminated the need for students to compete at other campuses and instead brought the festivities closer to home for students.

Some of the events at the first carnival included ice-skating, ski joring (in which competitors on skis are pulled by a galloping horse), bobsledding, Nordic skiing, ski jumping and snowshoeing. During the first years of Winter Carnival, winter sports typically began in the mornings with a break for lunch and concluded with a campus wide activity held in the evening.

As the tradition of Winter Carnival became more established, so did the daily schedule. Carnival schedules from the 1930s show the only difference today is the replacement of Monday with Thursday afternoon and all of Friday, making a four-day rather than a three-day weekend. Explaining why students eventually got Fridays off, Center for Campus Activities and Leadership Director Doug Adams cited the massive numbers of students who were reported to have skipped classes to watch the sporting events taking place.

Though many of the events from the original Winter Carnival have been removed, such as ski jumping, ski joring and snow shoeing, the weekend nevertheless remains filled with a spirit of athleticism: the tradition is maintained today with the Nordic and alpine skiing qualifiers.

Through the decades Winter Carnival has always been about the spirit of winter and celebrating the season. This year is no exception, as the carnival kicks off Thursday night with an ice show. Following this on Friday afternoon, there will be a snow festival sponsored by the Japanese Club and a cultural gala that evening. In keeping with the celebration of competitiveness at Middlebury, top collegiate Nordic and alpine skiers will compete in regional qualifiers for the NCAA on Friday and Saturday. The weekend will end Sunday with a Bread and Puppet Theater Performance.