Summer ball is an event that lasts pretty much all day. From 1:30 pm until 5 am, with a short 3 hour break in the middle from 5 - 8 pm for cleaning. There is live music, carnival rides, food and drinks. The afternoon portion is relaxed and fun- time was spent mostly laying in the sun and enjoying the awesome weather and the music and friends. The evening portion is more formal, girls and guys are both expected to dress formally, and there's more of the same things from the afternoon. The rides are open until 10, the food and drink tents are around for the whole night, and the live music is going until 12. The few who make it until the end of the event are rewarded with the privilege of being in the "survivor's photo" - a group photo of all of the people who lasted through to the morning.
In the afternoon, we relaxed on the lawn, enjoyed the live music, ate some yummy food and drank a bit. We drove the bumper cars, or as the British call them - "Dodge 'ems" and some people rode the tilt-a-whirl spinning thing. After my roast pork sandwich, I didn't think it a good idea. It was a pleasantly warm and sunny afternoon - perfect for laying out in the grass and enjoying live music.
After a break back home for a shower, some dinner, and some relaxing, we got all dolled up and headed back to the main campus for part 2 of Summer ball. The live music consisted of DJs and small, less known artists, as well as a band called Hard-Fi and another one called Example. I had never heard of these bands until they were announced as headliners of the Summer Ball. Most people were pretty excited about it, except for us foreigners who were left a bit in the dark. Regardless, Example put on a good show and Hard-Fi was alright. There was a 5 minute fireworks show, which was fun and just long enough to be cool and keep our attention. After the live music ended, there was Silent Disco. Still just as fun as ever, but for some reason this time the music wasn't quite in synch with our dancing mood. We did the headphone-bop for a little over an hour before wimping out and coming home. None of us made it to the survivor's photo, but I don't think I would have been a happy camper if I had. My mood had deteriorated with exhaustion by 2 am when we headed back. I couldn't imagine staying until 5.
