BY GABRIEL POLLAK & KEVIN ENGLE
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A trumpet blared through plumes
of blue and red at Friday's widely
attended Tribute to Holi, kick-
starting Serendipity weekend. Deep
bass reverberated throughout campus
until early the next morning.
Students drifted in and out of the woods with dreamlike
expressions on their faces, as if transitioning from fantasy
back to reality.
Expectations remained high for the unexpected.
What Kinda Didn’t Just Happen
"I started hearing the words 'Serendipity 2013'
thrown around this past summer," said Serendipity co
chair and sophomore Blake Brown.
Over summer break. Brown and former co-chair
Ashley Lynch started looking into music for the event.
Then, beginning in the fall, the committee
started holding weekly Wednesday meetings
open to the student body.
The committee faced the imposing task
of funneling the eclectic tastes of Guilford
students into four headliners.
After student voting, the committee
negotiated contracts with the headlining
artists.
"At that point, we were basically trying
to keep the boat afloat until the time of
the show," said Brown.
Often attached to these contracts
are riders, strange requests or
errands, attached to the more
typical outlining of pay and
production.
One of the headliners
requested a life-size
cardboard cutout of actress
Mila Kunis.
Another wanted
DVD of "Mean Girls. "
"We had to scramble to
find RL Grime his Special
Gatorade, which turned
out to be discontinued,"
said sophomore
and Campus
Down by the Lake
Activities
Board
member Irene Jacobson.
Yet, these bizarre tasks are only a
small part of staff responsibilities.
The green-shirted staff members raced golf carts
across campus, doing anything and everything to help
participating clubs.
"Our team this year was super organized and gelled really well,'
said CAB President and senior Hallie Dowling-Huppert. "We had good
communication throughout. I was incredibly impressed by how smoothly
it all went."
This being said, the coordinating efforts of the Serendipity staff greatly
contrasted with the atmosphere of the festival itself.
"It's challenging to be on a totally different side of Serendipity than all of your
peers," said Jacobson.
For every big and serendipitous moment at Guilford's annual extravaganza,
there are dozens of smaller steps coordinated by the Serendipity committee and
CAB to ensure the festival's success.
Students sometimes forget that Serendipity is not literal embodiment.
Serendipity did not appear on April 4 to April 6 by chance or magic.
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This year. Serendipity brought together its usual blend of music and community.
"This is what I want to see," said senior Lennon Vidal. "Everyone chilling at
the lake. No one getting in trouble."
With standout performances from student artists like L.A.B., A Tribe Called
Ben and Whiskey Fingers, the street fair embodied the festival's purported
collaborative spirit.
L.A.B., better known as sophomore Rod Walker, opened the street fair at two.
Despite the early slot, L.A.B. and his group, the Unoffidals, brought out a large
group of supporters.
For a performer on only his second show, L.A.B. commanded the crowd with
an MC's charisma.
"Where your hands at?" L.A.B. asked over cinematic beats from sophomore
Gray Hall guitarist for A Tribe Called Ben.
After bringing friends onstage to dance beside him, L.A.B. invited Guilford's
folk duo Bloombox, senior Heather Scott and sophomore Isabelle RamireZf
onstage to harmonize the hook of new song, "I Wonder," closing his set on a high
note.
Though students and the sun waned as A Tribe Called Ben took the stage af
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5:30 p.m., the mix of frenetic
sax and pattering conga felt just right for the
evening slot.
As Latin-influenced bass extended
around the lake, more students arrived.
"Their music fits perfectly with the
Serendipity vibe," said Heather Scott oi
Bloombox.
Though headliners Reggae Infinity
arrived to run through a mic check around
6:00, the crowd pleaded for more.
With permission from Serendipity staff, ^
Tribe Called Ben closed with a cover of the "James Bond
Theme,"featuring a blistering solo.
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"So many of my favorite experiences have been playing around outside whe*^
the weather is nice, and everybody is just enjoying each other's presence," said
junior Solomon Weiner, one half of the tight-playing, fast-picking bluegrass dun
Whiskey Fingers.
A Tribe Called Ben's namesake, bassist Ben Matlack, played trumpet on two nf
Whiskey Fingers' bluesier songs.
Guilford's scene abuzz like a hive, these cross-pollinating artists made th^
music all the sweeter.
Saturday's set from Philadelphia rapper Tayyib Ali drew a raucous crowd/
who Ali egged on, boisterously repeating the phrase "Turn up."
Earlier, a smaller crowd, some drawn away by the beckoning Final FoU^'
cheered as Reggae Infinity interspersed The Toyes' "Smoke Two Joints" into thei*"
two-step set.
"Smoke two joints, then go to class, then smoke two more joints," singer Ras ^
advised a like-minded crowd.
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Did That Really Just Happen?
On Saturday, a remarkable number of dogs rocked tutus and fairy wings, ^
example of the impromptu strangeness students look forward to at Serendipity-,
Prospective student Ayana Porter just happened to be visiting from Saud^