Student Foundation kicks off the holiday season tonight, hosting the annual Celebration of Lights in the main quad in front of Dallas Hall at 7 p.m.
“With an event that is so rooted in SMU tradition, we hope to see current and past SMU students coming together and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas and sharing the jubilation that we all feel when the lights are turned on,” said Kat Thompson, a member of the Celebration of Lights Committee.
Since 1977, the SMU community has gathered for this tradition, singing seasonal songs and watching student performances. Keeping with his own tradition, President R. Gerald Turner will read The Christmas Story to the crowd.
Attendees will be asked to blow out their provided candles as the quad is blanketed in darkness. Seconds later the University Christmas Tree, Dallas Hall and trees in the main quad will be lit.
“The Campus Events committee has been working on Celebration of Lights since Perunapalooza — planning decorations, setting a date, auditioning musical acts, taste testing hot chocolate, selecting a service project and ensuring that every little detail is accounted for,” Thompson said.
This year’s service project is The Salvation Army Angel Tree, which “gives individuals and partnering corporations an opportunity to adopt less fortunate children and senior citizens and provide personalized gifts and necessities to those who would otherwise receive very little or nothing during the holiday season,” according to the organization’s website.
Student performances will include senior Julian Spearman, senior Charlie Weber, senior Sarah Aboukhair, sophomore Shannon Conboy, first-year Uche Ndubizu and student groups Voices of Inspiration, Southern Gentlemen and Belle Tones.
“The event attracts students as well as anyone associated with the university in the hopes of reminding everyone what a great community we are a part of,” said Kaleigh Schropp, Vice President of Programming for SF. “[Today] we hope that everyone from first-years seeing the lights for the first time to seniors who bond over it being their last time will take a break from their hectic lives and remind themselves what brings us all here.”
The event is expected to last until 8 p.m.
