This year's theme, "The Roaring -20s," is recorded for posterity by the annual poster and t-shirt, designed this year by poster winner Rachel Rothbaum '00 and t-shirt winner Scott Snyder '00.
The designs are chosen every year from student submissions to a competition held by the Winter Carnival committee.
Winter Carnival Committe co-Chair Andy Louis '00 said choosing the designs involves a variety of criteria, from consulting a graphic designer to a committee consensus. "Eventually we took a majority vote to choose," Louis said.
Louis said that they received about 10 poster entries this year along with four t-shirt entries. In the past, the committee has opted to use a poster entry for the t-shirt, but this year they decided to steer away from that and chose a winner from the t-shirt submissions.
Committee Publicity Chair Wendy Fleske '98 said in addition to the tradition of having a "Carnival poster," the sales are an important part of financing the Carnival.
The proceeds primarily pay for the construction of the sculpture.
Louis said that good designs for the poster and t-shirt are important for "getting people excited for Carnival," and the early sales help bolster this excitement.
Fleske emphasized the larger place of the poster and t-shirt in the Winter Carnival tradition.
"This is the kind of thing people hang up in their room and can look back on to remember what a great time it was, both at the 1998 Winter Carnival, and in the '20s in general. Sure, it was prohibition, but they still had a good time," she said.
The committee also retrieves old posters to sell to students every year.
In addition to poster and t-shirt sales, the committee sponsored several theme-related events for the weeks before the carnival, including swing classes and a showing of the movie "Swingers."
Both Louis and Fleske expressed excitement about the '20s theme.
The committee chose the theme last fall, and they said that compared to earlier years, it has been easy to work with. "I love the theme. I have talked to alumni, both a '68 and a '97, and they seemed really nostalgic for Winter Carnival ... the theme really fits in well with that feeling," Fleske said.
Rothbaum said the theme itself inspired her participation in the poster contest. "I paint a lot, and my style is what the poster would be in the twenties ... someone suggested that I could enter this and do a good job," she said.
The poster design features a couple dancing in front of Baker Tower with a woman in a short flapper dress and a man in a tuxedo, and a car waiting for them in the background.
Rothbaum said one exciting aspect of the poster was its tradition as the representation of Winter Carnival, and she is proud to be able to design that in 1998.
"My hope is that the weekend will be as colorful as the poster, and that students will be as carefree as the dancing couple," she said.
Snyder expressed similar excitement over his work. He said, "I hope this contributes to the atmosphere of winter carnival. This should be a fun and memorable time."
His t-shirt design features three mobster snowmen facing a woman getting out of a car. The woman is dressed as a flapper. The scene takes place on the green with Baker Tower in the background.
Snyder said the '20s theme is a romantic one, and his design attempts to reflect the jazz age combined with his particular romantic style.
Specifically, Snyder wanted to express a romantic transformation of nature, a theme he felt went hand-in-hand with the '20s.
"My design is a story, and the girl is the main character ... there is a sense of suspense, like she is taking the snowmen on an adventure," he said.
Snyder hoped to capture that spirit in a shirt that fit in with the larger adventure of Winter Carnival weekend, as well as college life as a whole.
Friends urged Snyder to participate in the contest. Snyder wanted to help out "in some way" with the Carnival as well.
"This seemed like the best way to use my talents this year," he said.
Snyder has done other work for the College, including the Jack-O Winter Carnival t-shirt and cover, as well as a shirt for Alpha Delta and the 1997 Integrated Math and Physical Science shirt.
In order to participate in the contest, the artists were required to create designs that reflect the themes of winter, the Carnival and Dartmouth, along with an original portrayal of the '20s in a medium of the artist's own choice.
Shirts and posters are available in short or long-sleeved for $11 or $15, respectively. Posters cost $5.
