The Winter Gala: a true night to remember

Rifah Raida ‘28
raidar@lakeforest.edu
A&E Editor

SATIRE—The email announcing Winter Gala 2025 came just in time for everyone to be caught completely off guard and sent into collective panic about securing the dress for the night. Sent on the 3rd of February, students had just under a month to prepare. Even better, tickets were priced at $25 with the promise of a refund only upon attendance of the event— an innovative and entrepreneurial way to profit off of last minute mind-changers but who doesn’t appreciate a little creative business strategy from the school? It has been over a month since the Gala, and the lucky few that did end up attending the “glamorous evening of dancing, celebration, and community” (as per Campus Life’s email at least) are still waiting patiently for their refund. 

Now let’s talk about the actual night. The school graciously prepared for us to be picked up by limousines—the hefty tuition is clearly going somewhere. At first glance, these limousines might have appeared a little too yellow, a little too big. Upon second glance it might have even bore a striking resemblance to the typical yellow American school buses and sure, even upon a third glance it might not have looked like we were getting a remotely fancy ride to the gala. Clearly, we were arriving in style to our venue for the night, the Hilton. Yes, you read that right. We rode in on bright yellow school buses to the Hilton in Chicago (which charges nearly $400 a night). If that doesn’t scream high class, I don’t know what does. 

Hard to believe, but the night only got better from there. As we patiently stood in line to gain entry into the Grand Ballroom of this elegant hotel, our wrists were adorned with the most striking blue wristbands marking us as ‘under 21’. It paired perfectly with my dress and was the exact final touch I needed to pull my whole look together. 

Stepping into the ballroom, my eyes were immediately drawn to—well, not the gorgeous decorations, the spacious layout, or the grand chandeliers hanging from the tall ceilings. It was instead how empty it was. Apparently, the students of Lake Forest College were willing to miss out on the gala of the night to stay back for on campus parties—the fun ones with actual good music. Beats me as to why. I suppose, all the better for us few who obviously wanted the whole dance floor to ourselves. 

And miss out they did, on all the 3 different finger foods served across the 3 hour-long night. They missed out on the highlight of the night which was of course the overly thick, difficult-to-eat slices of cucumbers with no seasoning or additional flavours added to them. A bold culinary choice, really. And the two other bites of food we were graced with the rest of the night were just the most filling and scrumptious bites of food I personally have ever had. Besides the delicious food at the venue—or I suppose the lack of it—my favourite part of the night was the music. I absolutely love it when DJs play songs in their entirety so that instead of building up the mood at a party, people grow tired of the same song and leave the dance floor. What I like even more though is when the setlist is full of songs that are super niche and super hard to jam to because no one in their entire life has ever heard those songs before, especially not start to finish. Nothing brings people together like collectively struggling to dance to a song they don’t recognize. 

You know the night wouldn’t be complete without the most legendary organization and coordination on the school’s end for the bus ride back. In a move that could only be described as logistical brilliance, our return to campus was orchestrated with military precision—complete with little numbered cards, as if our return to the campus was some grand transportation experiment—while the actual event felt like an unscripted extravaganza. If there is one thing this school does not miss, it is the organization of lining up for the bus ride back to school. Part of me almost thinks they spent more time perfecting the lineup system for the bus ride back than the gala itself. 

Looking back, it’s clear that the real magic of the Winter Gala wasn’t in the event, the venue, the food, or the music—it was in fact in the sheer dedication to half-hearted execution. It was a night full of surprises, from gourmet cucumber slices to our grand chariot of school buses. And as we continue waiting for those elusive refunds, one thing is certain: it truly was a night to remember.