Last Friday, Calvin’s traditional masquerade formal was held at the Frederik Meijer Gardens, where about 630 students enjoyed a night full of dancing, laughter, food and fun. In charge of this event were Laura DeGroot and Kenzie Krumm, with the help of Laura Steele and Marie Prins.

“We all thought the event was a great success. Our volunteers were very helpful and everything ran smoothly,” said DeGroot. “Many people stayed the whole night, and the dance floor was always full.”

Last year was the first year that the masquerade was held at Frederik Meijer Gardens, and it was very popular, which is one of the reasons why it was held there again this year.

“Frederik Meijer Gardens is a nice venue because people can enjoy the excitement of the dance floor, but also have places to walk around such as the indoor gardens,” DeGroot said.

The music was also a huge success thanks to Calvin alumnus Michael Mandeville, who filled the dance floor with hopping tunes all evening.

“My favorite part about the dance was just that I had a lot of fun being in a group with my friends and dancing to the current awesome music that was provided,” said first-year student Elizabeth Hunt.

“The last song was my favorite; our group all stood in a circle and swayed to the song, ‘See You Again,’ and it was just a really good time with friends,” said Calvin DeWeerd, also a first-year student.

The masquerade theme was also a huge hit with hundreds of students bringing out their best masks that college student money can buy and glamming up the gardens with some sparkle.  

“I loved wearing my mask for the masquerade. It was a little unfortunate that as soon as people started dancing they all took the masks off, but I really like the theme of a masquerade,” sophomore Nickie DeVries said.