The 28th annual Spring Fling is officially here, and festivities are scheduled to begin today at 11 a.m. in the Quadrangle. "The Sweetest Fling" will take over the Quad today and tomorrow with food, games, local bands, student groups and general merriment above all. Students need not leave the quad for their culinary needs. Allegro Pizza, Papaya King, Fat Jacks and other restaurants will set up shop in lower Quad. Pat's Steaks will also return this year, making an appearance at the Carnival in Wynn Commons as opposed to Hamilton Village. Following the Carnival, there will be a pancake breakfast at 1920 Commons, and Sony Pictures will be previewing "A Knight's Tale" for free at Cinemagic at midnight. The Social Planning and Events Fling Committee has been working non-stop lining up musical groups and corporate sponsorship. The wide array of entertainment will be provided by groups such as Onda Latina, Penn Jazz, Quaker Notes, Pennsylvania Six-5000 and The Ally. Following its annual tradition, Mask and Wig will close the Fling celebration on Saturday afternoon with its comic and musical performance. Also on Saturday, '80s pop star Tiffany will be performing in the middle of the day. "I am really looking forward to seeing Tiffany on Saturday," College sophomore Matt Blank said. Yet despite all the planning, the University will be putting forth a significant effort to monitor alcohol consumption throughout the weekend, and prevent the drunken debauchery that typically characterizes Fling. The highlight of this weekend's activities will be tonight's concert, featuring Ben Harper and an opening act by the Black Eyed Peas. Like the success of last year's concert -- held outside in Hill Field-- SPEC has planned to hold the concert this year in the same venue, barring bad weather. Even if rain does fall, tonight's concert will go on. As in past years, contingency plans call for an indoor alternate location in the Palestra. According to SPEC Fling Committee Co-Director and College junior Christina Chiew, the Palestra is "not as desirable a venue because it has really poor acoustics." But according to the latest weather reports, this year's Fling can expect some not-so-sweet weather. Although weather calls for rain today, the weather should be clearing by tomorrow and continue with partly cloudy skies on Sunday.
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