More than 500 alumni, current and past parents, faculty, staff, and friends gathered on campus during the weekend of June 9 and 10 to celebrate Alumni Weekend 2017 and the huge success of Mx2:The Campaign for Middlesex.
Friday night’s New England clambake was a spectacular kickoff for the weekend! Guests gathered in and around the Celebration Tent for dinner and dancing. Woodman’s and Island Creek Oyster served up the traditional summer seafood feast. The tent was festooned with twinkling lights and colorful lanterns, and featured fun table settings and a live band. It was a gorgeous evening with clear, bright skies, and a beautiful full moon behind Eliot Hall.
Saturday morning featured some of the more traditional Alumni Weekend activities, including a breakfast for the 50th reunion class with Head of School Kathy Giles P’06’09’11, a memorial service presided over by our very own Reverend Joe Watkins ’71 GP’20, as well as the presentation of the Athletic Hall of Fame and Henry Cabot Lodge ‘20 Distinguished Alumni awards. The program concluded with remarks by Stephen Lari ’90, president of the board of trustees, followed by reflections from Kathy Giles on modern Middlesex and the impact that Mx2:The Campaign for Middlesex has had on the School or will have on the future of the School.
From the Circle, guests returned to the Celebration Tent for a sumptuous lunch, after which they were free to visit all of the buildings on campus, including the dorms. A trolley was available for a tour around campus and Hymn 110 was sung by many of the riders as they rounded the Circle!
A highlight of the afternoon was the opening of the stunning, new Rachel Carson Music and Campus Center. Lise Strickler ’78 P’14, an early supporter of the project, spoke about Rachel Carson and her legacy of environmental activism. The building was transformed from the old central heating plant into a state-of-the-art teaching and performing facility. In the new recital hall, more than 30 alumni musicians and singers were on hand to perform solo vocal and instrumental pieces and to perform with an alumni chorus. It was truly a memorable opening for such a beautiful performance space.
The day concluded with guests gathering on the Circle to enjoy lawn games, desserts, and music. The community also said thanks and farewell to two retiring members of the Middlesex faculty, Ned Herter ’73 P’97’99’02 and Dan Hertzel, and inducted them into the Middlesex Alumni Association as honorary members of the class of 2017.
Members of each reunion class then headed off to a final gathering, joining each other at individual receptions as unique as the classes themselves!
Click to see photos of the weekend’s festivities!