Berry College Mountain Day 2007

About Berry College Mountain Day 2007

Each year on the first weekend of October, Berry College remembers founder Martha Berry with a traditional celebration called Mountain Day. The holiday, which celebrates Miss Berry’s birthday, features events for students and alumni alike. Highlights include the Mountain Day Olympics for faculty, staff and students on Friday afternoon, and a picnic lunch for the entire college community on Saturday. The picnic is followed by the Grand March of students, one of Berry’s most enduring traditions.

The music for the Grand March is provided by the college band. Students, led by the seniors, join hands, separate, and unite in ever widening lines as they weave a marching pattern on the gentle slope at the foot of Lavender Mountain. During the march, students drop donations into the birthday basket, traditionally the number of pennies equal to their age. These donations become a part of the Martha Berry Memorial Endowment Fund, established by Miss Berry with gifts made to her to aid The Berry Schools. A colorful part of the tradition is the costume worn – for the women, a pastel pink (blue if a senior) dress or skirt and blouse; for the men, a lighter blue shirt (white if a senior) and dark trousers.

On Saturday night, students gather on campus in the Clara Bowl adjacent to the famed Ford Complex for Marthapalooza, an all-night, carnival-like festival featuring, free food, games, music, a bonfire, an outdoor movie and the opportunity to camp out with friends. This new Mountain Day tradition (started in 2005) drew an estimated 2,000 visitors in 2007. Among those in attendance was actor Dennis Haskins, known to many as “Mr. Belding” on Saved by the Bell.

http://www.berry.edu/alumni/