On Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Cornell's Barton Hall will be host to the Fifth Annual Cabin Fever Festival, a carnival-style fund-raiser for children of all ages to benefit the Ithaca Community Childcare Center (IC3).
As in past years, some 5,000 children and parents will have a chance to bounce on the Moon Bounce, try to land goals against the Cornell soccer team, participate at arts and crafts booths, rappel from the bleachers and have a ball with more than 80 other activities.
"It will be a day of pure, unadulterated fun," promises Thaisa Way, the managing director of IC3. This year's major sponsor is the Ithaca Journal, but Cornell's participation also is crucial for the event's success.
All of the money raised from the Cabin Fever Festival goes to support the child-care center, which is committed to providing affordable child care to families of diverse backgrounds, Way says. In order to achieve this goal, IC3 has a sliding-scale fee structure, by which families are charged in proportion to their annual income. The proceeds from the festival help to make affordable child care at the center a possibility, Way says.
This year nearly 500 volunteers from the Cornell community, including more than 300 students and over 100 staff and faculty members, are involved in the preparation and running of the day's events. Way credits Catherine Holmes, associate dean of students; John Gutenberger, assistant director of community relations; Charles Cook, building coordinator for Barton Hall; and Mike Goodwin, head custodian for the building, as being instrumental in the planning and execution of the Cabin Fever Festival. Students from Cornell Tradition, the Inter-Fraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and Students for Children are among many Cornellians donating their time.
"We really could not do this were it not for Cornell," Way emphasizes, "not just the use of Barton Hall but also the loaning of equipment, as well as student volunteers and faculty volunteers."
Cornell's volunteers will be showing up at the festival in many different capacities. Hotel School students from lecturer Rupert Spies' cooking class are assisting in the food area; a number of athletic teams will be conducting mini-sports clinics with the young attendees; and other students will be involved in everything from face-painting to cleaning up afterwards.
"I volunteered at the Cabin Fever Festival last year and loved seeing all those little kids running around, bouncing off the walls and getting silly things painted on their faces," said Christiana Celeste Nichols '97.
The Cabin Fever Festival is still looking for volunteers for this year's event. If you are interested, contact Gina Jackson by phone at 254-7143 or e-mail at gj13@cornell.edu .
The entrance fee, which includes everything but food, is $6 for children and $8 for adults. See you there!