Johns Hopkins Gazette: April 24, 1995


It's A Luau! Spring Fair Starts Friday

By Leslie Rice

     Every April, hundreds of thousands of people make a
pilgrimage to the Homewood campus to attend JHU's biggest party
of the year.

     This year the party will be Hawaiian-style, and Hopkins
students are hoping that artfully placed fake palm trees and the
wafting tunes of live Caribbean music will draw a sea of people
to the JHU Spring Fair, appropriately named Luau '95.

     Fair opening ceremonies, hosted by former Baltimore Colt Art
Donovan, will begin at noon on Friday, April 28. Fair hours are
Friday from noon to 7:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

     Besides the nearly 200 arts, crafts and food vendors, the
fair will feature exhibitions by nonprofit organizations, a kid's
corner, carnival rides and an antique car show. 

     The Maura Beer Garden, open to adults 21 or older, will
feature live music Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Also on
Saturday afternoon, a celebrity softball game will be held
featuring local notables such as Baltimore City Council President
Mary Pat Clarke, attorney Stephen L. Miles and WMAR-TV news
anchors Stan Stovall and Mary Beth Marsden.

     On Sunday morning, a 5K Race will be held in conjunction
with the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. 

     Kicking off the weekend festivities will be a Thursday night
concert in the Newton H. White Athletic Center featuring the
Boulder-based band The Samples, known for alternative hit singles
like "Giants" and "Feel Us Shakin.'"

     "Everyone on campus seems really excited about The Samples
coming, they're really popular in the college scene," said April
Bowling, co-chair of the fair.

     Spring Fair, which is run by a 300-member student staff, is
the major fundraising event of the year for JHU student
organizations, said Bowling. Just about every JHU student group
has a vending table out during the fair and often will make in
one weekend enough money to cover expenses for an entire year. 

     Depending on weather, the fair will draw from 100,000 to
300,000 visitors. Last year, visitors still arrived by the
thousands despite rain.

     "People just went into nearby buildings and patiently waited
until it stopped raining," said Bowling. "Spring Fair has really
become like a city fair. The only difference is that it's more
accessible than one held downtown. We see it as an opportunity to
give something back to the Baltimore community, which has been so
good to us. Also, it gives children and high school students, who
make up a major part of the fair visitors, a nice exposure to
campus life and college students."

     For more information about the fair, or the 5K Race, call
the Spring Fair office at 516-7692. Tickets to The Samples April
27 are $17 each and can be obtained by calling 481-SEAT.

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