New music, new friends, new location: Newstock returns for another successful year

New music, new friends, new location: Newstock returns for another successful year

Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph
Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph

At 80-plus degrees, Saturday was warm one – even for November in Sarasota. However, the hot sun didn’t stop plenty of students from grabbing a blanket and a friend and a block of shade to partake in campus’ most charming event, Newstock. Strewn on the Nook’s adjacent grassy area – different from the usual Z-Green location – Newstock welcomed attendees with music, crafts, food and good company.

“We thought it would be more fun there. It’s more shaded, it’s more cozy,” second-year, Resident Advisor (RA) and Newstock organizer Hope Sparks said.

Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph
Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph

Talented acts that took the stage on Nov. 19 included New College’s own student-filled jazz band New Catz, Sarasota’s Passerine (which include Professor Of Sociology David Brain), Orlando’s Sailor Ripley, Pensacola’s Renee Is A Zombie and campus mainstay Acapellago. Crafts were scattered throughout the lawn, welcoming guests to enjoy the live music and organic atmosphere offered by the friendly event. Student-run booths surrounded the area, selling baked goods (for Dance Collective!), handmade crocheted items, poetry, henna and more.

Newstock is operated annually by RAs, who organize the event from start to finish – an exhaustive process that requires everything from booking and paying the musical acts to scheduling booths to providing food.

Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph
Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph

“I thought it went really well,” Sparks said.

0PTiMYSTIC! & Friends closed out Newstock. On the final act, Sparks said, “The last set was surprising for a lot of people, but I think it was really good. I was talking to some of the people who went, and they said that if it would have been someone else closing Newstock, it probably wouldn’t have been as good. It was a nice transition from Newstock to the Wall.”

Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph
Photo credit: Caitlyn Ralph

Newstock wasn’t the only fun, communal event going on last Saturday – International Games Day was put on for another year, filling the Jane Bancroft Library with a variety of games, snacks and raffles prizes.

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