Big Bash

GAMBIER, Ohio (April 24, 2007) After twelve weeks of a challenging academic semester, most students are ready for a break. Cue Summer Send-Off, Kenyon College's annual music festival and pre-finals party, set for Saturday, April 28.

Headlining the event will be De La Soul, a hip-hop band whose hit "(Saturday)" recognizes that, for students who have "worked liked heck to get the week in check" over the course of the semester, "it's time to let loose" and "dig the funky output" of a talented and close-knit community.

While the event serves as many friends' "last hurrah" before a long summer away from the Hill, it has also become a major venue for student performances. Seven student groups will take the stage, with Sombrero Fallout, the winner of Kenyon's recent Battle of the Bands, open ing for De La Soul. Self described as "hipster-hop, Waldo rock, and wheelie-suitcase rap" group, report that they are "palm-sweaty and teeth-chattery" and also incredibly excited" about their upcoming show.

For those who can't wait until the weekend, Kenyon's Social Board has scheduled a kick-off event for 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night. Comedian John Oliver, most recognizable for his role as the British correspondent on "The Daily Show," will be the featured performer.

The event will begin around 5:00 p.m. with a picnic and a performance by DJ Phil Thompson. Students who are serious about their relaxation can lay back on Peirce Lawn and enjoy the proximity of free entertainment, mocktails, and snacks, while doggedly-active others can burn off excess energy by bouncing on one of the large inflatables. T-shirts commemorating the event will be available, with all proceeds from their sale aiding Cuttington School, a damaged liberal-arts college in Liberia.

Though Send-Off includes Liberian beneficiaries, out-there musical styles, and British comedians, the focus of the event remains firmly upon the Kenyon student community. Social Board co-chair Brendan McCarthy '07 hits the nostalgic nail on the head: "Every year, the senior class stays a week later than everyone else and sings 'Kokosing Farewell' (the school song), and that is what Send-Off is to the rest of the student body. Kenyon is a very special community made up of many close-knit friends, and Summer Send-Off is out last hurrah together, to embrace that before parting ways."