When students arrive at the gates of the Slayton Arboretum each fall, they find the space transformed into an ambient, softly-lit garden oriented toward a unique theme. Last year, the space became a real-life cottagecore Pinterest board. In 2018, the space mimicked the imaginary world of Wonderland. 

This year, Student Activities Board took campus to a “Night in Santorini,” complete with a live band, sweet mocktails, and golden stars dangling between trees. For students, the night in Slayton Arboretum began at 9 p.m. and concluded by 12 a.m.–but the SAB team members working behind the scenes prepared, planned, and pulled off the event on an entirely different schedule. 

 

Five Months to Go: 

According to senior and SAB Media Lead Hannah Cote, the team began planning for their fall events on reading day of spring semester. 

“It’s the only day they can get us all together when we’re not at Centrahallapalooza and not at finals,” Senior and Event Lead Grace Jagoda explained.  

The team spent the most time planning Welcome Party but also began brainstorming for Garden Party. 

“Before the spring meeting even happens, there’s a brainstorm sheet where we all dump all of our theme ideas,” senior and Event Lead Katie Weis said. “We vote on all of them and then pick our top three.”

During summer, the team met over Zoom to pick the theme. 

The only thing confirmed by the start of the school year are the band and theme, but menu ideas are also discussed. SAB provides Metz Catering with a list of items that fit the theme, and Metz gets back with what they are able to do. 

“They make most of their decisions based on what large quantities they can make at once and make ahead of time,” Jagoda said. “We really wanted kabobs but they can’t string thousands of kabobs together for us.” 

This year’s menu included pita, hummus, salad, and meatballs, which Weis said are the new chicken tenders.”

 

One Month to Go: 

According to Cote, the creative team does most of the brainstorming for Garden Party in early September but doesn’t start making any of the decorations until the week before the event. 

“A lot of time we’ll go antiquing around Hillsdale over and over to keep collecting different stuff if we know we want certain elements,” Jagoda said. “We might not have all the details worked out, but once we have the theme we can start collecting stuff.” 

According to Cote, Garden Party is the third most labor intensive event to prepare for after CHP and President’s Ball. Unlike the other events which are inside or under a tent, Garden Party requires the team to deal with an open, outdoor space. 

“For Garden Party, you need to create all of the environment,” Jagoda said. “You need to make more elements for the theme to show through.” 

 

One Week to Go: 

With one week left before Garden Party, the team spent hours each night prepping for the event.

“No one does anything else. It swallows our week,” Jagoda said. 

The team has shop nights at Hayden Park Monday through Thursday to build and paint larger decorations such as the photo booth. 

“Working with the whole team makes it fun,” Cote said. “We play loud music and everyone is dancing around painting stuff.” 

One of the team’s proudest accomplishments was building the columns leading down from the gazebo to the stage area. 

“We took cardboard cylinders and stacked them and screwed them together in bases,” junior and Promotional Lead Ian Schlagel said. “We painted them white and then literally staked them into the ground.”  

When not at the shop, the team works between classes to prepare decorations that don’t require intensive construction, such as the flower arch and centerpieces. 

“It’s very staggered in a way,” Weis said. “You might have to run to Walmart or the antique store. I felt like we went to Gelzer’s eight times in one day.” 

During the week leading up to Garden Party, the promotional team also plans their cocktails. 

“We decided what we were going to a couple of days before and then shopped for the ingredients,” Schlagel said. “It’s a little more last minute, but it’s fun to come up with menu ideas to do.” 

This year’s drinks, Mediterranean Sea and Santorini Spritz, were both served with a sugar rim.

“We were really bougie at Garden Party,” Weis said. “We had sugar rims, and mind you, it was in the dark. They bartended in the dark.”    

 

24 Hours to Go: 

On the morning of Garden Party, SAB members wake up and head to the Arboretum. They begin setting up for the event at 7:30 a.m., with team members taking turns working shifts between classes. This year, they began their morning with coffee that Jagoda brought for everyone from Checker Records. 

“We do anything that would get damaged if we left it out the day before,” Jagoda said. “Centerpieces, bistros, decorations, tables and chairs.” 

The team said they were fortunate not to be scrambling to finish anything the morning of Garden Party, although they did have to find bistro lights to string by the food. 

 

At the Event: 

During the events, each team member takes turns working two of six jobs: band watch, entrance security and welcome, mocktails, trash, floating, media, and photo booth. 

“If the band is good, stage watch is the best,” said Jagoda. “But you do have to stop people from crowd surfing which always makes people mad.” 

According to Weis, there is no best job–it’s all personal preference. 

“Mocktails were special this time, but I usually prefer just floating and talking to people,” Schlegel said.  

Due to sugar rims on the mocktails, the team agreed that trash was a more undesirable job than ever. 

“That was the stickesist trash shift I’ve ever had,” Jagoda said. “Every cup I picked up, I had a layer of sugar running down my hand.” 

 

Post-Event: 

After the last guest leaves the Arb at midnight, the team’s work continues. They stay to tear down the event and clean up until 1:30. 

“We all pound Red Bulls before clean-up starts so we can go triple speed but still have fun after work,” Cote said. “Everyone drinks it at midnight right when Garden Party ends.”

The team still had the energy to enjoy themselves when their work was done. Schlagel said he went to Taco Bell with other SAB members, while Cote, Weis, and Jagoda relaxed on Cote’s porch.

“After Garden Party, I grabbed a popsicle from the SAB fridge and we all went back to my house and hung out for a while,” Cote said. “It was an amazing last Garden Party for the seniors.”