Bulldog News
Spring Fling celebrates community
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A high energy mix of traditional and first time events helped make this year’s Hillside Spring Fling one of the most memorable in recent memory.
The festivities got underway on Friday, May 1 with a diverse offering of interscholastic lacrosse, tennis and track and field competitions. In addition, the day proved to be track and field’s time to shine with the dedication of the new Krasnow Track.
The dedication, which took place on the new track’s six lane, all-weather professional grade surface, was named in honor of Hillside alum Charlie Krasnow ’05.
Both Charlie and his family, parents Todd and Debbie Krasnow, were on hand for the dedication ceremony. Charlie himself expressed gratitude to Hillside while also expressing the hope that he would soon “read about the first student to break the five minute mile at Hillside.”
Todd Krasnow, meanwhile, voiced support for his son’s alma mater. “Hillside did much for Charlie and we welcome the opportunity to honor this schools continuing, incredible focus on the growth and development of young boys,” he said.
Friday evening’s activities got off to a roaring start with a silent auction, sponsored by the Hillside Parents and Families Association, and a student karaoke contest. Several student groups enthusiastically participated in the contest, displaying “American Idol-worthy” stage presence with combined dancing and singing talents. Crowd participation was evident with audience members cheering and even singing along with the contestants.
Later on, the acoustic folk rock outfit, the Adam Ezra Group, took to the stage of Hillside’s Tracy Gymnasium to the delight of students, parents and others. The group’s appearance was the culmination of a landmark series of songwriting workshops conducted with Hillside students.
Ezra and his fellow musicians worked with the Hillside boys on creating rhythm, harmonies, guitar chords and even writing lyrics to songs over several days in April.
The collaborative effort paid off at the May 1 stage performance with the debut of a Hillside-inspired song penned by Adam Ezra himself. The presentation was made even more special with Jack Humsey ’09 lending his voice to his own rap lyrics.
Another highlight of the evening featured Chris Barry ’11 contributing his own expert drumming talents to an Adam Ezra song while Hillside’s very own music teacher, Shah Salmi, both rapped and played trumpet to the groups composition, “Soul’s for.”
Saturday featured a wide array of student and parent activities including multigenerational lacrosse, tennis and baseball matches. The weekend concluded on a high note with spirited bidding at the Annual HPFA Auction. As always, the “headmaster for a day” prize proved to be highly popular with students seeking the top spot at Hillside, if only for a brief 24 hours.
A festive luncheon topped off the weekend as the Hillside community, once again, welcomed spring in style.
Students help dedicate the new Krasnow Track at Hillside School during Spring Fling weekend.
Juan Pablo Horn-Gallardo '10 (left) and Kenan Williams '10 belt out the tunes during the karaoke contest.
Jacob Wertheimer '09 (right) congratulates his mother, Bea Alice Loos, on a strong serve during the student and parent tennis match.
