Where were you in 1971?

If the answer is "at Johns Hopkins"--or anywhere else in Baltimore for that matter--then chances are you may have been part of what has become this city's perennial harbinger of spring.

At noon on Friday, April 17, Hopkins' 27th annual Spring Fair--whose theme is Odyssey '98--will burst forth on the Homewood campus, once more bringing to Baltimore a weekend of fun, food and festivities.

The oldest student-run event of its kind in the country has been in the planning stages since October, when co-chairs Jessie Crain and Bill Northington picked up the reins and, with their 55 committee members, started planning the event. Now the group of student volunteers is 200 strong, and their roles include everything from the behind-the-scene tasks of booking vendors and entertainment to manning the booths and keeping the grounds clean.

It's official: Mayor Kurt Schmoke, right, with co-chairs Bill Northington and Jessie Crain, has proclaimed this coming weekend Spring Fair Days at Hopkins.

A crowd of about 100,000 is expected. Monies raised will help support a wide range of student activities.

Harvey Fierstein, comic (Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day) and playwright (Torch Song Trilogy), serves as the event's official opener, with a show set for 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Shriver Hall. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Letters to Cleo will take to the Shriver stage, and at 8 p.m. Saturday, Ska, Blues and Trip-Hop will entertain in the Great Hall and Glass Pavilion. Numerous live performances are scheduled thoughout the weekend on the steps of Gilman and Shriver halls and in the Beer Garden.

Festival hours are 1-5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets to Harvey Fierstein are $7 for students, $12 for general admission, and for Letters to Cleo, $8 students and $10 general admission; tickets will be sold in Levering and at the door. For other information, call 410-516-7692.