Tomorrow, the Student Planning and Events Committee (SPEC), will be throwing their very first "Beachfest," the newest addition to their beloved 'fest family. Wharton sophomore Kimi Kalb, a director of the Special Events committee, and a zealous gingerbread house-maker, describes the joy of throwing a party for 10,000 of her closest friends.
Street: How did you get involved with Special Events?
Kimi Kalb: I heard of SPEC during NSO of freshman year and I was hooked. Special Events is essentially "prom committee" and I knew I'd found my favorite activity.
Street: Tell us a little bit about how the 'fests evolved.
KK: Frightfest, Winterfest and Lovefest have been going on for years, but Beachfest is a new creation as of this semester.
Street: What is your favorite 'fest, and which parts about it do you like the most?
KK: I absolutely love Winterfest because the winter holidays are my favorite. It's always the last day of classes so it's the perfect way to celebrate right before finals start. I'm also kind of obsessed with gingerbread house-making so I try to spend my whole day working that table.
Street: What is the most popular part of 'fests?
KK: Obviously the cookies. We can't have a fest without the cookies. It would be abandoning the very essence of what Special Events is all about.
Street: Why do college kids like decorating cookies so much?
KK: Cookie-decorating clearly has nothing to do with appetite. The people who spend the most time creating cookie masterpieces rarely eat them, mainly because the piles of frosting are absurdly high, and the mountains of candy intricately placed on top would be impossible to eat.
Street: How many cookies get ordered? For that matter, how much candy (and other stuff) gets ordered?
KK: For the past two events, we've gone through 1100 cookies well before the event is over. We actually go to BJ's a couple days before the event to stock up on every possible kind of candy we can find. I can't even come close to quantifying how much candy we buy - it's a lot.
Street: What's the worst 'fest-throwing snafu you've had to deal with?
KK: At Lovefest this year, we ran out of dipping food and chocolate about 2 hours into the 4-hour event. Until we could get more, we ordered brownies from Houston Hall and broke them into bite-sized pieces so they would last longer. We must have spent half our time at that event cutting up food into smaller pieces.
Street: What's your favorite type of party?
KK: I love black and white parties because everyone is kind of forced to dress up and they look so elegant; it puts everyone on their best behavior. Right now, I'm all about throwing a "famous celebrity couples" party.
