Winterfest brings the holiday spirit back to Chapman

Photo by Emma Johnson, Staff Photographer

It’s that time of year again, Panthers: Christmas lights adorn the trees in Attallah Piazza, the on-campus Starbucks has started selling beverages in their signature holiday-design cups and the iconic light-up panther, staring daggers at you as you walk past Liberty Plaza, climbs its way up the Beckman Hall tower. 

But perhaps the holiday season at Chapman hasn’t truly begun until Winterfest and Doy’s Holiday Tree Lighting, the university’s annual celebration of all things Christmas. 

This year, the 12th annual celebration was held on the evening of Nov. 20. Before the actual ceremony even began, Christmas music rang throughout the piazza — the likes of Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” could be heard as snowflake pattern light projections decorated Leatherby Libraries, the Marion Halfacre Fountain and Beckman Hall. 

This year’s celebration was the first that senior screenwriting and public relations, advertising and entertainment marketing double major Jadon Sand could attend. 

“I love the holiday spirit, and I love community events like this,” Sand told The Panther. “When I got to see it the last two years, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of more fully. So I’m glad it worked out this year that I got to come and experience the whole thing from start to finish.” 

The night was filled with speeches from Chapman community members and multiple song performances from individual singers, bands, the assembled audience and campus a cappella groups. 

First to face the audience in the night’s lineup were The ChapTones, with a rendition of “Silent Night.” A setlist of Christmas songs, performed by the Wimberley Bluegrass Band, followed their performance. The group, composed of class of 2016 Chapman alumni siblings, treated the audience with renditions of “Deck the Halls,” “Silver Bells” and “Angels We Have Heard on High,” among other tunes. 

Chapman Soundcheck later took the stage, performing their own setlist that began with Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree.” 

Senior public relations, advertising and entertainment marketing major Adam Ferry appreciated the event bringing some of campus’ a capella groups together. 

“My favorite part was hearing all the different a capella groups because it’s really nice to be able to hear all of them during one event, because I feel like normally they just all have shows that are separate,” Ferry said. “So it felt like a great unification of all the different wonderful singers that they had.” 

The celebration also featured a speech by Rabbi Cassi Kail, wishing the audience that no matter what holiday they celebrate, it provides them with joy, hope, and purpose, among other attributes. 

Kail’s speech was Sand’s favorite part of the night. 

“I loved the speech (Kail) gave. I thought it was really sweet,” Sand said. “It kind of really sold the whole community idea of this event.” 

As the night progressed, an emphasis was put on the “young Panthers” in the audience, with children attendees invited up to the front of the crowd to listen to a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” and, eventually, to watch the arrival of Santa Claus himself. 

This portion of the ceremony highlighted its importance to Chapman’s surrounding community — it’s not just a staple event to those at Chapman but serves others in the university area. 

It’s a facet that senior screenwriting major Cassie Thanos noticed. 

“I liked when they brought all the little kiddos up to the front…” Thanos told The Panther. “I like that they really bring the whole community into this, and so the fact that the little kids got to go up and have their own little experience just made me happy.” 

Perhaps the most memorable moment of “community” came when, after the Doy’s Holiday Tree Lighting, “snow” fell from the metal scaffolding encasing the Marion Halfacre Fountain. Audience members rushed to the fountain’s roped-off edges, reaching for it. 

After the event, attendees milled around the piazza, meeting Santa on the stage or buying concessions like pretzels, tamales and popcorn. Amid the event’s de-escalation, my interviews with Thanos, Sand and Ferry took place.

Ferry felt that the celebration, occurring just before the semester’s Thanksgiving break, was a nice introduction to the “holiday vibe,” and a distraction from the upcoming finals week. 

“I thought it was just wonderful, and I think everyone enjoyed it,” Ferry said.