On Monday afternoon, Mudd Field was transformed. Three stages were constructed in front of Seigle Hall and trucks from Mission Taco, My Big Fat Greek Truck, Cheese Shack, Slide Piece, Bombay Food Junkie, Buzz’s Hawaiian Grill, Essentially Fries, Wingnut and NY Food Truck pulled up all along one side of the field. Wrightonpalooza, a festival commemorating the leadership of Chancellor Mark Wrighton and his wife Risa Zwerling Wrighton over the last 24 years, was approaching.

“We really wanted it to be an inclusive kind of event that any student, faculty or staff member could attend near the end of the day,” Steve Givens, head of the Wrightonpalooza planning committee, said. “We chose bands, student performing groups and food and activities that we hoped would be fun and reflective of the diversity of the entire community.”

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Chancellor Mark Wrighton waves to crowds at Wrightonpalooza Monday. Wrightonpalooza celebrated the leadership of Wrighton with food trucks, performances and other fun activities.

The best way to make the festival accessible to the most people and offer the widest range of activities was to host it right in the center of campus, on Mudd Field. Mudd Field is a large space, but just walking around it between classes, it’s easy to forget just how large it is. Seeing it have room to spare for the student body even with three stages, nine food trucks, a food/water/Ted Drewes tent, inflatable bowling, tie-dying spin art and airbrush stations installed put it in perspective. And that’s saying nothing about Chancellor Wrighton driving up the side of the field in a red convertible.

“We did our best to have something for everyone,” Givens said.

And they certainly made a valiant effort. Over the three hours of the festival (I stayed the entire time), I looked at the long lines for the food trucks and decided not to wait in them. I did, however, wait for an airbrushed hat that the artists made right in front of me. I waited to paint my own frisbee with spin art. While I was there, I learned that in spin art, less truly is more. I grabbed a free T-shirt. I tried to wait in line for a caricature, but ended up being too late—the festival closed before I got one.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Chancellor Mark Wrighton and his wife Risa Zwerling Wrighton perform a dance with representatives from dance marathon.

When I wasn’t waiting in lines or getting cool stuff, I watched the performances on stage. Headliners Brian Owens & the Deacons of Soul and Steve Ewing took turns performing. In between those two acts, Chancellor-elect Andrew Martin and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Craig Shnuck gave speeches and many student groups, such as the Juggling Club, Mariachi, WUFuego and YoWU, performed. The performances lasted far longer than the speeches because, as Schnuck said in his address, “Today is not the day for long speeches. Today is the day for celebration.”

Not everyone felt like celebrating Wrighton’s legacy, however. About halfway through Wrightonpalooza, a group of students marching under the WU/FUSED banner began protesting. They marched around the festival, chanting “Need blind! Now!” and “Shut it down!” After passing every part of the festival twice, they dispersed, confident their point had been made.

Despite the interruption, Wrightonpalooza went on as planned—a fun day outside celebrating the Chancellor, filled with lots of free items. The food ran out eventually, as it was bound to do. As the festival drew to a close, the only thing I could think about was the fact that it didn’t feel like a Monday.

Wrightonpalooza tried to capture the feeling of summer, and it succeeded. With the live bands and student performances, the food trucks, the weather and even the tie-dye, it felt like a summer day.

Givens agreed. “The setting and the weather was perfect for the celebration,” he said, “although we were a little worried about that late last week.”

Ultimately, though it may have started out being solely a celebration of the Wrightons, by the end of the day, Wrightonpalooza felt like much more. It was a celebration of the spring around us, and the rapid approach of summer. It was a time to forget schoolwork, just for a little. And it was a celebration of everything that Wash. U. is and, as the protest reminds us, everything it could be.