Downtown parade kicks off Spring Weekend
A parade float passes in downtown Rochester during Spring Weekend. The exact year of this picture is unknown.
RIT’s Spring Weekend was an annual celebration that began around 1950 and was easily the biggest social event of the school year.
The event was held near RIT’s downtown campus and was once described as “RIT’s Mardi Gras” by Reporter magazine. Festivities were kicked off with a large parade through Rochester that was followed by a carnival, a formal dance and a concert. Each year, a different theme was chosen for the weekend.
In 1951, the Spring Weekend theme was “Springtime Along the Mississippi.” A World’s Fair-themed carnival featured booths representing countries all over the world, including Argentina, Ireland, Russia and India.
The following day, more than 1,000 couples danced to the jazzy rhythms of Count Basie in the Columbus Civic Center.
When RIT relocated its campus to Henrietta in 1968, Spring Weekend disappeared. However, the celebration’s spirit lives on in the present day through SpringFest.
Topics
Recommended News
-
November 22, 2024
![a group of six students and adults stand in front of a sign bearing logos from R I T and other companies.]()
RIT expands research on circular economy in Southeast Asia with new funding boost
A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will continue the work led by professors Clyde Hull and Eric Williams with entrepreneurships based on circular economy principles in member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
-
November 20, 2024
![Five black men stand in a semicircle in a small garden in Kenya.]()
RIT professor helps to tackle energy access in rural Africa
Williams’ collaborative work tackles the subject of energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, the United Nations established Sustainable Development Goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
-
November 14, 2024
![Sue and Bob Mather celebrate their 50th anniversary in Alaska.]()
Tiger Love: New major leads to lifetime of love
Bob Mather will forever remember the summer of 1970. He was attending a visual performance in American Sign Language at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Sue Mozzer was signing.
-
November 13, 2024
![a young indian woman stands beside R I T president David Munson holding a plaque in front of a set of cement steps..]()
Ph.D. student finds joy in carbon composite 3D printing
Sai Sri Nidhi Munaganuru, from Hyderabad, India, anticipates completing her Ph.D. this summer from RIT’s mechanical and industrial engineering program. Her work extends the capability of carbon fiber technology through a new manufacturing approach that could eliminate high production costs, waste, and dependence on skilled labor.
