Despite the initial hurdle of bad weather that prevented the Chatham Spring Formal from being held at Eden Hall as originally intended, the event went on as planned in the Rea Coffeehouse on Friday, April 11.

Due to the inclement weather, attendees were offered their choice of a refund on ticket prices or the opportunity to make a donation to the Senior Class Gift at the door. Despite an initially low turnout at 7 p.m., the influx of students eager to mingle, listen to music at an unreasonable volume, and eat cupcakes picked up by 8 p.m. and the basement of Rea was filled almost to capacity soon after.

As with last year’s Spring Formal–hosted at the PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo–there was a large selection of cupcakes in various flavors including mimosa, margarita, strawberry, red velvet, creative cheesecake, s’more, and half a dozen others. Other offerings included sandwiches, buffalo chicken dip, artichoke dip, crackers and cheese, and non-alcoholic beverages for underage students, as well a small selection of alcoholic beverages for of-age students.

While the Rea Coffee House gives off the general air of an underground bomb shelter while the lights are on, they were turned off and only the pink lights strung up on the mantle of the brick fireplace and the flash of cameras provided illumination until the end of the evening. Turning off the lights, though, did manage to give the formal a more club-like feeling, aided by the DJ’s song selection.

An unintended attraction at the Spring Formal was the graffiti on the walls of the coffeehouse, which seems to have been there since time immemorial–or at least the 1980s.  Students over the years have added their own signatures and images to all available wall space, and occasionally even reaching up to the ceiling to have more area to cover.

Even with the location change, a fun time was had by all. Students can look forward to Spring Formal next year as a continuation of this beloved Chatham tradition.