American Celebration

This past weekend was the 30th annual American Celebration at Chapman University, and the event went off without a hitch. Every Fall semester, students watch as the big white tent goes up on Memorial Lawn and begins to fill with the extravagance that only Chapman can offer its guests. At first the tent seems remarkably out of place and odd, but as the weeks leading up to AmCel go on, the tent becomes a regular part of the campus. How a company can make a tent look like the finest of ballrooms is beyond me, but they manage to do it in a timely manner with the utmost class. Looking like a circus pop-up on the outside, the American Celebration gala is held in a beautifully decorated and elegant room. From the wood floors, to the fountains, to the chandeliers and lights, the inside of that tent is nothing less than extraordinary. Donors, trustees, friends of the University, and students alike all file into the tent after the always amazing performance by some of Chapman’s most talented students. After the music and dancing, dinner and dessert, socializing and donating to the University, the event ends just as suddenly as it began. By the next morning, the tent begins to empty- beginning with the most lavish pieces- and slowly but surely the tent is progressively taken apart. Feeling as if a building had been torn down, Memorial Lawn begins to appear again with the overgrown grass that hasn’t seen the sun in weeks. American Celebration and the big white tent become a standard part of the Chapman experience for students that walk by Memorial on a regular basis. Beginning as an inconvenience and an eye-sore, it’s always a little sad to see the tent taken down and driven away.

- Kelsey