By Madeleine Thompson

Despite receiving only $2,000 of the $5,000 they solicited for the Black, White & Red All Over Ball, the Horn Gallery and the Peeps O’ Kenyon turned their Valentine’s Day formal into a colorful success, according to Kat O’Hara ’12, co-manager of the Horn.

“We had contacted a band of alumni who I remember playing when I was a freshman called Heartthrobz, but they couldn’t make it,” O’Hara said. “One of [the band members, Luke Brandfon ’10] wanted to play a solo set … so we had some money for him to come out and play. It was great because we were able to devote almost all the money to food and decorations.”

The ball, the first collaboration of its kind between the annual Horn Black and White Ball and the Peeps’ Valentine’s Day party, also served as a smaller- scale replacement for Philander’s Phling. The Phebruary Phunds Committee, set up to reallocate funds previously used for Phling, allocated funds to the Horn Gallery and the Peeps for the party.

“I was really impressed with all of the student groups that were involved,” O’Hara said. “Everyone who helped put it on really came through.”

For the Peeps, the Horn was an ideal venue because it is bigger than Weaver Cottage, the traditional location of the Peeps’ Valentine’s Day party. “We all put a lot of effort in,” Peeps Social Chair Ellie Tomlinson ’14 said. “The work that went into putting this together was a lot more than we were used to. We wanted an event that appealed to more people than the parties we normally throw.”

Far more students attended than anticipated. Though Safety officers were present to check bags for alcohol, which is prohibited in the Horn, they were also useful in controlling the crowd. The high attendance, along with attempts to sneak alcohol into the party, led to several threats of a shutdown from the Safety officers. “As a lot of all-campus parties can be, it got a little complicated, just with the amount of traffic and people that we had,” Tomlinson said.

O’Hara, who was also surprised by the turnout, acknowledged that there were some issues with running out of food and fitting everyone into the small space. “People wanted to come to the party, which was great,” O’Hara said. “It was just hard to manage. It was difficult getting people to go downstairs, because they obviously wanted, for the live music, to be upstairs where it was happening.” For the DJ portion of the dance, students were more willing to go to the basement because it was audible downstairs as well as upstairs.

In O’Hara’s opinion, the party outdid itself in the best way possible. “This party was particularly successful, and I would love to see it happen again,” O’Hara said. “I was pretty pleased with it, and I personally think it’s a great opportunity to see students doing creative things for the social scene on this campus.”

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