40th Reunion - May 26-29, 2011
There were 8 decades of
Princetonians at our 40th Reunion Headquarters listening, singing and, yes,
even dancing to those sweet sounds of the 1960s and 70s on the Friday night of
Memorial Day weekend 2011!
If you were there, you
know. Even if you did not make it, you’ve probably heard or read something
about it.
After The Beach Boys more than 2-hour
non-stop set of most of their Top 40 hits, Princeton Reunions favorite "girl
group," The Party Dolls sang for
another 2+ hours in the Dod/Brown courtyard. The dance floor was jammed (even
President Shirley Tilghman was seen on the floor during "Be True To Your
School”), Princetonians were standing on the sides and behind the stage and
hundreds of seats were occupied around the tent.
For the first time, the
Class of 1971 also projected Friday’s shows on a large screen within our site
so even those "taking a break” could take in the action on stage. There were
still more Princetonians watching the simulcast of both shows to the stage at
the 50th Reunion tent. It was a night that will be talked about for
many years.
In all, thousands of
Princetonians and their families and friends enjoyed themselves. Here are just the first few hundred of them, with lead
singer and the writer of many of the group’s classic hits, Mike Love h71, on
the right.
Photo by Chris Connell ’71,
All Rights Reserved
As Entertainment Chair
Stu Rickerson explained at our Class Dinner earlier that evening, the Class of
1971’s Save the Wild Life Fund could not have afforded what is often called
"America's Band"alone.
Undaunted by this harsh
financial reality, Stu explained he called The Beach Boys manager anyway to ask
whether the band was available on the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. The
band’s manager seemed puzzled. He said, "Are you sure we’re talking about the 40th Reunion? We got an inquiry from the 50th Reunion
just yesterday. Why don’t you two guys talk?
They did. As luck would
have it all the stars lined up, and the rest is Reunions history. Once we
formed our entertainment partnership with the "Golden Oldies Fiftieth” Class of
1961, the idea to bring back The Beach Boys to Princeton seemed so obvious and
right for Reunions, we pushed forward with the plans despite the costs and the
inevitable logistic and production difficulties that needed to be overcome. In
the interim, The Beach Boys announced that they would be kicking off their 50th Anniversary tour during the summer of 2011, and began rehearsing so they would
be in top form. To top things off, lead singer Mike Love accepted a Class
Blazer as an honorary member of the Class of 1971 at a small gathering at
Prospect House before the show. Here he is later on stage, looking resplendent.
President Tilghman -- who
was seen dancing and singing to the
band -- said the next evening when the Class of 1971 assembled at dinner, it
was "genius" to bring this band back to Princeton for Reunions. She
was effusive in her praise to the Class for creating the right mood at this
year’s Reunions and for encouraging many Classes and several generations to
come together and get to know each other better.
Even genius requires
financial support. The Beach Boys production and performance costs were not
"baked into” our 40th Reunion registration fees, but were paid
entirely by SWLF. While delighting thousands of Princetonians in the 40th Reunions headquarters site, bringing "America’s Band” to Princeton for the
first time in forty years (they said from the stage that they last played at
Princeton in 1971) seriously reduced the SWLF cash reserves, which are used to
support so many 1971 Class-wide activities.
Your gift can help refill
the SWLF reserve fund depleted to make this show truly memorable (did someone
say, "simulcast?"). Since Reunions, SWLF has received a number of
unsolicited and greatly appreciated gifts.But that is only a start in
satisfying its continuing funding needs. If you decide to help support future
SWLF activities, please go to the '71 Giving portal.
Photo by Myrna
Stanczak s71
All Rights Reserved