The Entertainment Committee (EC) hosted the 10th annual Winter Wonderland event on December 4 drawing over 600 students in attendance. This event concluded EC’s schedule of events for the fall semester and they concluded on a happy and festive note. The Stute had the opportunity to interview Gianmarco Costa, the Festivities Director of the EC to gain insight into what made the 10th Winter Wonderland extra special.
Given how this year marks 10 years since the first Winter Wonderland, preparations for it started as soon as Winter Wonderland 2023 concluded. Costa, spearheading the planning for this, has been working with the Office of Student Life for almost a year to ensure a successful event. On the EC’s side, once the groundwork and logistics were laid out, the shift focused on Winter Wonderland immediately after the Fall Fest concluded.
In terms of agenda, there were a number of student performances as well as the 5th Annual Santa Competition. This year’s Santa Competition had seven organizations participating which Costa notes is the highest amount of participation ever in the history of Winter Wonderland. The organizations were: Theta Phi Alpha, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Alpha Phi Omega, Gear and Triangle, Stevens Trivia Club and Student Government Association. Each organization had to send one representative to be Santa and two representatives to be Santa’s Elves. They all competed in a series of exercises and games with their performance earning them points. Following an extremely competitive race, Sigma Phi Epsilon took home the title of Stevens Santa following lots of cheers from the crowd.
While the EC’s Winter Wonderland drew a lot of attention from students, it also drew the attention of alumni. Costa shares how several alumni previously involved in the EC were invited to attend this event in celebration of its 10 year anniversary. Among them was the Stevens Tree Lighting founder, Greg Klesaris (Class of 2017), who traveled all the way from Florida to attend and gave a few remarks. In hopes of making this event extra special for the returning alumni, Costa stated that he added a few new elements: a 6ft tall “Winter Wonderland” marquee lettering sign, a short slideshow on the history of the event across the years, and SITTV was hired to record the event and edit videos of it.
The final part of the night was the Tree Lighting Ceremony and this coincides with Costa’s favorite aspect of the event. “This might seem obvious, but I love the Tree Lighting part of the event, cause I love seeing everyone’s smiles and cheers, especially when we announce the raffle baskets winners. It brings me joy and it also means that the event was completed successfully. It’s a moment of celebration for the whole team, plus it’s when the decor looks the nicest,” Costa stated.
When asked for any further comments or thoughts on the 10th Annual Winter Wonderland, Costa said that he is extremely grateful to all those who attended and participated in the event and especially grateful to those who supported in making this event a success.
