November has started and Waynesburg University students are already waking up to a frost-covered campus in the morning. With only about a month left in the fall semester, the Student Activities Board (SAB) is planning on ending it with the yearly Winter Formal.

Frank Harbaugh, one of the people overseeing the Special Events Committee in the SAB and a graduate assistant to Pat Bristor, said that at the end of each semester, the SAB holds a formal dance as a last big event. The event will be held on Dec. 1, at Lakeside Venues in McClellandtown, PA. According to their website, Lakeside Venues is 60 acres with two lakes, fountains and a gazebo. 

“With ballrooms accommodating up to 500 guests, Lakeside Venues is the perfect location to host weddings, corporate functions, school dances, and more,” according to the website.

Harbaugh said that the students would be in one of the venue’s two ballrooms for the Winter Formal. The doors will be open so that people can go and cool off in the middle of the dance, as well as take pictures at the gazebo, which he said is a popular photo spot for students. 

Alyssa D’Alessandro, another graduate assistant to Bristor and one of the people in charge of the Special Events committee in the SAB said the school vans will be leaving for the formal at 6:15 p.m. from Miller Hall, with the venue doors open at 7 p.m. The students are expected to return to campus between 11-11:30 p.m. Harbaugh said the tickets for the event are $25 and are on sale from Nov. 3 to 17.

The Winter Formal will have many attractions for the students. There will be a DJ that the students can request songs from while they enjoy socializing with their friends. D’Alessandro said that there will be a photo booth going along with the theme of this year’s Winter Formal, which is Sugar Plum Fairy. Students are encouraged to dress formally for the dance, but it is left up to the discretion of the person. “It [the event] gives people the chance to dress up,” D’Alessandro said. 

“Some people go all out and some people go kind of casual,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh said that one of the biggest draws to the Winter Formal is the food that is served. Thomas Hyland, resident director of Willison Residence Hall, graduate assistant to Bristor and the final person in charge of the Special Events Committee in the SAB, said that the dinner is formatted like a buffet where they will have many different options to choose from, and waiters to serve the food. There will be a main meat dish with assorted sides and a dessert afterward. 

“They have excellent food; I have only good things to say about it,” Hyland said. 

The Winter Formal is right before finals begin, and gives the students a chance to unwind and have fun together. “It’s a good place to be able to spend some time with friends before the holidays,” Hyland said. To purchase a ticket for the Winter formal, a student can visit myConnect at https://idp.quicklaunchsso.com/waynesburg and sign themselves and a guest up for the dance.