Last year we accidentally found out that the Rollins College in Winter Park offered free "Music at Midday" student concerts on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Tiedtke Hall. Well, maybe they should not be called concerts. These are recitals, or mini-concerts, which last about 45 minutes. It is for music students to present their talents in a less formal setting to a small audience. Rollins students can earn credit by attending such concerts. And the school offers these concerts to the general public.
Besides the "Music at Midday" which starts at 12:30 pm, they also have "Music at Midnight" at 11:30 pm. Of course, we never went to the late night concerts. But it must be fun for the students to enjoy some music before going to bed.
Clearly the student performers are not yet professionals. Two weeks ago a young lady pianist made so many mistakes that finally she stood up and said "I'm sorry" and walked off the stage.
Most performers manage their stage fright adequately, give a quick bow and flee to the back stage. Usually there are 30-40 students in the audience, a couple of faculty members, some parents/grandparents of the performers, and some other 閒人 (idled person) like us. Sitting with the students in the mostly empty concert hall, you can't help but feel young and hopeful yourself!
Today we went to the concert. The campus seemed empty, and we found parking near the concert hall without any problem. Walking to the hall, we saw a note pasted on the door "Midday Concert canceled due to Fox Day".
Huh??
John asked a staff member in the building (the concert hall is in a building surrounding with practice rooms and classrooms) about this Fox Day. And here is the story:
Back in the 1950s, the President of Rollins College, Hugh McKean, felt that there should be some event to draw the students together, to do something together and make it felt like a big family. And he remembered when he was a kid his father used to drive the family through the western Pennsylvania hills. In the evening mists rose in the valleys, and his father would say, "The foxes are cooking their supper."
So one spring day in 1956, Hugh simply put a fox statue out on the lawn and declared it Fox Day. No class! Students played sports and danced and enjoyed themselves. And in the evening, they sat down together for a barbeque dinner next to the chapel on campus.From then on, every year one morning in spring the president of the college will (without any advance notice to anyone) put the fox statue on the lawn and announces, simply by doing that, that it is Fox Day.
We found the story fascinating and decided to take a look at the fox. Somebody pointed out where the fox was. We went over to the the big lawn and right by the flag pole is the fox. I did not have camera with me, but found a image of the fox. It is not very big, about my knee height. But they say it is very heavy because otherwise people (meaning students) will steal it for fun. There were people setting up tables and chairs for the barbeque dinner.
John and I joked about sneaking back in the evening to have a free dinner with the students. But surely anybody could easily see we are at least 30 years over the college age. Youth, after all, belongs to the young people. But being here in the surroundings of the warm sun and gentle breezes and green lawns and the glittering lake, life seemed young and fresh and sweet.
So, I wish all of you a Happy Fox Day!
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