It is said that every tradition starts with a new idea. All it takes is a group of people, or even one bold person, to start something from its infancy. Many of these ideas fizzle out over time due to others challenging them or not believing that there’s a future for them. Other ideas flourish into longstanding traditions that are intertwined into our history.
As the co-chairs of Orange Festival, we have been contemplating the concept of “tradition” a lot lately. Where do they come from? How do they start? Why do people support them while others openly mock them? These conversations are natural to occur for a tradition such as Orange Festival, which is celebrating only its third year on our campus at the University of Miami. Orange Festival is a new tradition, but a tradition nevertheless.
For those that were actually in attendance at Orange Festival 2015 last Friday, the event was a tremendous success. More than 600 students, faculty members, administrators and alumni came to the Student Activities Center promenade for the day. Sebastian the Ibis, the Miami Maniac, and Obie the Orange, from the Orange Bowl, were all there. Attendees enjoyed learning about older traditions from the different organizations and departments that define our school’s history. Free food, T-shirts, games and celebrations all took place as people enjoyed partaking in the third annual Orange Festival.
We could not have been more proud of the work our team has accomplished since we first met to plan this year’s festival back in September. It is because of their support, and the support of our friends, that Orange Festival continues to become better. We challenged ideas, became creative with ways to improve the event, and brought more people together in orange than ever before. Our love for the University of Miami fueled our efforts to make this festival the best one yet and to continue making Orange Festival a part of our UM history.
In the end, Orange Festival was created simply from an idea. An idea that ourselves and others have challenged, supported and hoped to make better for over three years now.
That sounds like a tradition to us.
See Also: Patrick Quinlan’s article “UM traditions go beyond color”
Claire Kebodeaux is a senior majoring in psychology. Seth Furman is a senior majoring in business management.