Thousands of people crammed onto the Lawn, the cheerful holiday jingles of a cappella groups, steaming mugs of hot apple cider -- everyone and everything comes to a standstill when, as if by magic, the entire Lawn is lit up in gold. Behind the cherished tradition of Lighting of the Lawn, however, lie not magical elves, but one chair, five subcommittees, 11 subcommittee heads and the combined efforts of approximately 300 people.
The Lighting of the Lawn committee, chaired this year by fourth-year College student A-J Aronstein, is an effort that brings together First-Year, Second-Year and Third-Year Councils, along with Fourth-Year Trustees. Each of the five subcommittees -- receptions, logistics, programming, public relations and special projects -- is responsible for coordinating a different aspect of Lighting of the Lawn.
Working on the committee has "given me a new appreciation for event planning," said second-year College student Allie Moore, who has been working on the public relations subcommittee. "This isn't the first event I've helped organize, but it certainly is more complicated than it seems."
Third-year College student Sarah Boschung, who has been working on the special projects committee, agreed.
"It's been fun getting to know what goes on behind the scenes -- all the planning that is a part of this event," Boschung said. "I didn't really know all that was put into [Lighting of the Lawn, but] working on the committee has made me realize."
The list of all the things that must be taken care of for this event is extensive, and one of the many important things that must be coordinated is logistics.
First-year College student Laura Flynn Heller, who has been working on the logistics subcommittee, said the subcommittee has been coordinating, among other things, police for the event, trash cans for cleanup and the sound and lighting for the event. Wayne Russel, the electrical supervisor for facilities, provided further support with his team by hanging the thousands of lights.
Another subcommittee, receptions, is co-chaired this year by third-year College student Wallace Gundy and third-year Architecture student Marcus Oliver. Gundy said they were responsible for the logistics behind the receptions -- finding locations for the receptions for each of the colleges and the class councils, as well as purchasing food for the class councils and Trustees.
"There are representatives from each of the colleges that we have been in contact with who are in charge of the reception itself, but we're responsible for making sure that each college has a pavilion for their reception," Gundy said. "The colleges themselves are in charge of putting on their own receptions."
On the public relations front, Moore said she has been contacting newspapers and coordinating flyering and chalking efforts. In addition, she designed the logo for the event which is on the program and the t-shirts for the committee.
Boschung has been working with Madison House to coordinate the canned food drive that will be happening in conjunction with this year's Lighting of the Lawn.
"We're asking everyone to bring canned foods with them to the event and [the cans will] be distributed to local shelters," Boschung said.
Boschung and other students said they became involved with the Lighting of the Lawn committee for various reasons.
"I first got involved my first year because I had seen pictures from Lighting of the Lawn from past years," Gundy said. "It seemed like a neat committee to get involved in, especially since the holiday time is my favorite time of year."
Just as students had different reasons for joining the committee, they got different things out of the experience of preparing for the event.
"Lighting of the Lawn is quickly becoming a tradition, even though it has only been in existence a few years," Gundy said. From working on the committee, she gained "an appreciation for the strong community that we have at U.Va. -- events such as Lighting of the Lawn have made me appreciate the close-knit family we have here; it's really nice to see how members of the entire community ... get excited for this event. It really brings all of U.Va. together just in time for the holiday season."
Heller said, as a first-year, she had no idea what Lighting of the Lawn was or what she was getting into.
"It's nice to work behind the scenes and learn how the University delegates funds and money and where all the ideas come from and how to find contacts," Heller said. "It was a good experience, and I'm glad I did it. It's baffling to see how much work goes into putting on something like this."
Heller, like many other committee members, also said one of her favorite aspects of working on the committee was the people she met through the process.
"Being a first-year, I'm a huge advocate of joining things that you [might find] daunting at first," Heller said. "I met a bunch of older people that I've been able to talk to about other things I need advice for."
Despite all they have done to prepare for this event, committee members stressed the event would not be a success without the support of the University community.
Moore said, while there are numerous important things that need to be taken care of to ensure the success of Lighting of the Lawn, nothing is "as important as the general enthusiasm you can foster before the event. If people are excited, they're going to come out and make the event as special as they want it to be."
Gundy said she felt the major contributors to the success of Lighting of the Lawn were not only the events and support by students, but also "the beautifully lit, and hopefully snowy, Lawn and, most importantly, everyone who comes. Attendees really do see this as the perfect opportunity to spend time with friends before the hustle and bustle of exams and holiday break. The more people who come, the merrier an event it will be."
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