If you ask a handful of Princeton students what their favorite Princeton memory is, the odds that at least a few of them will say “Lawnparties” is incredibly high. Now, what is Lawnparties you ask? A party on a lawn? Well, yes, but it’s much more than that! A beloved Princeton tradition, Lawnparties is a once-a-semester event filled with food, fun, and music. Let me take you through what it looks like:
The day starts off with students lining up in McCosh Courtyard in the morning to get their wristbands, a necessity for accessing all the events of the day. People will also be getting brunch with their friends at one of the dining halls or on Nassau Street (they also have bagels at the wristbanding tent!).
From there, students usually make their way over to the SPIA fountain area, which has become the go-to site for Lawnparties photoshoots every year. Friends and clubs will take group pictures together and sometimes even jump in the fountain! We also have awesome professional photographers that make their rounds on campus throughout the day, capturing all the fun and posting them for us to access later (check them out here!). And because of all these photo ops, it’s worth mentioning that students do tend to get a little dressed up—sundresses, nice shirts, etc.—but everyone ultimately wears what they’re comfortable in!
Afterwards, everyone starts heading to 'the Street,' which is our nickname for Prospect Ave and the home to our 11 eating clubs. There, students enjoy celebrations at all the different clubs and free delicious food from various food trucks. In past years, we’ve had everything from Nomad Pizza (a local favorite!), Taco Bell, Rita’s Italian Ice, and even an empanada truck. The day can get pretty long, so students are always grabbing a bite to eat and fueling up. There’s also water stations all over the Street so that people can stay hydrated.
Then, towards mid-afternoon, students will begin walking over to the main stage at Frist North Lawn to watch the opening acts. One thing that I love about Lawnparties is that we almost always have at least one student opener each semester, so it’s a great way for student artists to promote themselves and gain experience performing in front of a bigger crowd. And, vice versa, the community also gets to check out all their talented peers and cheer them on!
Finally, after the opening acts, what we’ve all been waiting for: the headliner comes on! Every year, the headliner announcement is highly anticipated. Our USG Social Committee works hard to get us well-known, well-loved performers. Since I’ve been at Princeton, we’ve gotten to watch the following artists perform live for us on campus: A$AP Ferg, Flo Milli, Hippo Campus, Waka Flocka, and, most recently, Loud Luxury! I was especially excited about the last of these, who headlined our Lawnparties on September 10th earlier this year—“Body” by Loud Luxury is definitely one of my go-to party songs. The fact that we essentially get to have all these amazing, famous artists give us a private concert for just our community is honestly really cool and really special; I look forward to it every year!
It should be noted that the past three semesters, it has actually rained on the day of the event. Now, of course, it’s always nicer to have Lawnparties on a day with great weather. It makes for better pictures, parties, and just overall better energy. But in my experience, Princeton students have really chosen to embrace it. The parade of rain ponchos over everyone’s Lawnparties fits is always a sight to see, and a concert in the pouring rain can be legendary. All this to say, it’s a rain or shine event, and the weather has never stopped students from having a good time!
I only have three more Lawnparties left while I’m at Princeton, so I’m trying to savor every last moment of them. I can’t wait to see who our headliner will be in the Spring (when we'll hopefully have some better weather)!
