American Festivals Project

Part I: Syracuse, New York.  Home of Syracuse University and the Carrier Dome where Orangemen teams for decades have won national championships from basketball to lacrosse.  And last weekend, this was supposed to be the location of the Eastern Championships for the Xtreme Cheer and Dance competition.  So perfect for AFP!!!  But alas, a last minute cancellation of the dance fest threw our plans into a tailspin and we had to improvise.  Plan B…the Dartmouth College winter carnival.  “It has potential” we thought to ourselves.  And its only 2 hours away.  Running the truck on veggie grease most of the way, we pulled into Hanover, NH with about 10 minutes to spare before the start of the Polar Plunge.  For 2+ hours, Dartmouth students shed their winter clothes on the ice of Occam Pond, revealing skimpy bathing suits, and one-by-one lept into the frigid water.  It was akin to watching lemmings walk single file off the edge of a cliff.  Smiles and screams of excitement on dry-land quickly subsided when bodies went into the sobering emotions of survival mode.  The things we do for a quick thrill!  And the things we’ll endure for a good photo.  Even with completely frozen hands, we persevered to make some nice frames.

Polar Plunge from Ross McDermott on Vimeo.

Part II: What started as an auspicious morning quickly turned in a different direction.  Seeking hot chocolate and wifi, we were cleverly duped by the “Dirty Cowboy Cafe” who could provide the beverages but not the broadband.  What college coffee shop doesn’t have internet?  Lame.  So we peaced and headed over to frat row (Webster Street) to poke around and get the skinny on all the party happenings that night.  Ross had read online about Dartmouth’s infamous winterfest parties (rumor has it “Animal House” is based on one of these fraternities) and thought what better opportunity to photograph America’s best and brightest at their finest.  With our ear to the street, word of an 80’s party surfaced and we set out to guarantee our place in party history by gleaning the local Salvation Army for neon ski outfits.  To make a long story really short, the shopping was certainly successful, but the parties were a total bust.  When you throw a costume party in Charlottesville, you better bring your A-game.  Apparently at Dartmouth, its means costume optional and beer pong trumps dancing. We were appalled.  But then again so were the frat boys looking at Virginina IDs with DOBs from 1981.  To say we stood out is an understatement.  We looked like undercover cops.  Where had all that northern love gone?

Actually, we found that northern spirit of generosity and friendship about 7 miles down the road waiting for us with cold beers and plenty of room for bedding down.  Our hostess with the mostess, Ms. Amy Miller, is a friend of a friend and through a series of small miracles ended up welcoming us into her country home.  She didn’t even bat an eye when we arrived to the door after midnight still wearing our ridiculous retro threads.  For the next four days, AFP had awesome meals, great conversations, sledding adventures, and the all important wifi for blogging.  There was even the opportunity to hear “Patience” played bluegrass style.

Amy is a classical violinist turned fiddle player who is no stranger to travel.  Her dad is an esteemed anthropologist and took the family every year to live in various parts of the world for 3-6 months.  Having spent lots of her life in West Africa, she seems content to be settling into life in Vermont.  Her goal is to open a space in her hometown in Norwich, VT that will be an anchor venue for local artists and community events.   At 25, most young people are still thinking about what they can take for themselves.  For Amy, giving back seems to be her preferred way of life.  We certainly enjoyed the benefits of such a warm personality.