Fling committee gets set for April festivities

As Penn and the Social Planning and Events Committee gear up for Spring Fling 2002, Spring Fling Committee Co-Director Tim Ofak says that preparations are coming along on schedule.

Nonetheless, no headlining band has been named for the Fling concert on Friday night, April 12.

Fling, which will take place the second weekend in April, is a week earlier this year because of the early start of the spring semester. In the last two years, SPEC has announced the Fling band before spring break.

SPEC Concerts Co-Director Kirk Freeman said that there is no cause for concern this year, and that the Hill Field concert will go on as scheduled.

"They are coming along and still talking to some bands," the College junior said. "We are just making sure that everything is set before we release any names."

Ofak added that despite the slew of rumors surrounding Fling and the possibility of moving some of the festivities out of their traditional Quadrangle locale, Fling will be much the same as in previous years, if not better.

"There have been so many rumors flying around -- it was just wild," Ofak said. "Some of the freshmen running for class board were running on the platform to keep Fling in the Quad, but there was never any fear it would leave the Quad."

However, because of last year's Quad renovations, Ofak said that his committee will be forced to make some minor adaptations.

"We have to take care of some of the new changes," Ofak said. "They have some new flower beds, and we have to put a fence around that, and the stage is going to be moved over a couple of feet in lower Quad."

And while the water and the ensuing mud pits at Woodstock are legendary, Ofak said the Fling committee is taking extra precautions to ensure against a mishap at the Quad concert with the newly installed sprinkler system.

"Our biggest concern is they put in some sprinkler systems," Ofak said. "We don't want to break any of the pipes."

Carnival -- the annual Fling Saturday night event filled with food, music, games and assorted promotions -- will also be held in its previous locations of Wynn Common and College Green.

Ofak said he hopes that Carnival will be the highlight of Fling.

"We are really trying to promote Carnival this year," he said. "Hopefully, we can offer some things to entice students to come."

Broke and hungry Penn students may find that free cheesesteaks from Pat's are just the enticement they need. In addition, Coca-Cola and Dunkin Donuts will be promoting their products at Carnival.

This year's theme for the festivities is "Flingin' in the Free World," which is inspired by the Neil Young song "Rockin' in the Free World."

Other Fling goodies include Fling T-shirts, which will be sold on Locust Walk for $10 two weeks before Fling. The Fling logo that decorates the shirts, however, is currently in the works.

"The artist is still making some minor changes," Ofak said. "The logo will be put up on the Web site hopefully next week."

Guest passes also will be sold on Locust Walk two weeks before Fling for $5. The multitude of students who are expecting friends to join them for the revelry that takes over Penn's campus every April will benefit from early action -- on the actual days of Fling, the guest pass price increases to $10.

Overall, Ofak said he is excited and optimistic about this year's Fling.

"Hopefully, it will be better than last year," he said.

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