Matt Holmes
by Kendra Clark
staff writer
It was a family affair over the past weekend as families came together to enjoy a good time with games, food and music.
The highlighted events of the weekend included: A Common Beat by Up With People, a carnival and a kite festival.
The weekend officially began on Friday night when the traveling group Up With People performed A Common Beat. The musical show showcased students from all over the world who sang songs to promote world unity. The students who were dressed in ethnic clothing entertained the crowd through dancing and singing popular cultural songs such as Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life.”
A standing ovation was awarded at the end before the almost -full gymnasium left with some of the audience wanting more.
“This is the third show that I have seen and it’s such a wonderful experience,” Maggie Schwertner said a Radnor resident.
Others agreed with her. “I would love to do this and I think that it will help individuals come together,” Haven McMickle said a first year student.
With Friday night over, Saturday began a new day, which included a carnival. The carnival, which took place on the upper athletic field, had activities such as an inflatable slide, jousting, basketball, and music. The food, which was set up in a carnival-like scene, included a hot dog cart, fries, cheeseburgers, popcorn, nachos, smoothies, and cotton candy.
Families could be seen relaxing and playing on the field. “The food is great and it is relaxing,” Angela Bennett said a first year student.
“We need more of this,” Lydia Amankwah said, a sophomore. She also added, “It is something new and it brings everyone together.”
Parents agreed with students” responses, but also added, “It’s a great time, but they need to add more activities to if for next year,” Jo Anne Cover said, mother to a first year student.
On Saturday night, a dinner was held behind the mansion. After the dinner, the homecoming dance was held until 1:00 a.m. Before the dance, the announcement of homecoming king and queen were announced.
Seniors Meghan Merkel and Tony Barrett were pronounced Homecoming Queen and King.
The kite festival, which took place on Sunday, offered a variety of activities for families to do. Besides flying kites, families could see an animal safari show, watch a magician and get their picture drawn by a caricaturist.
Also on Sunday, On the Spot, Cabrini’s improv troupe performed for a packed house in the theater. The six-member troupe entertained the crowd by doing a variety of improvisational acts. These acts, which were not pre-rehearsed, required the crowd to yell out names of objects and places for the actors to use in their acts.
Family weekend had a great turnout, but some students said that things needed to be changed.
“They need to open the lines of communication amongst the students,” Jennifer Dalvano said, a first year student who also said that she did not know about everything that was going on throughout the weekend.is year’s family weekend over with and next year’s in the planning, Jennifer Howitz, a first year student had this piece of advice, “The more people who turn out, the better the weekend will be.”
