Olean – Houghton STAR

On Saturday, March 25 at 7 p.m., Gillette Hall will host their annual banquet at the Old Library in Olean, New York. The theme for this year’s banquet, “Be Our Guest,” will feature red roses, candles, and high bookshelves to bring guests into the magical world of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The banquet will include music and dancing, with unlimited dessert, including multiple flavors of cheesecake, apple pie, fruit, and a chocolate fountain.

This year’s banquet is a continuation of a long standing tradition in Gillette Hall. A history so long, according to Resident Director (RD) Laura Cunningham, “I’m not sure when it actually began. It has always, just, existed.” Cunningham said she even checked with René Stempert, Head of Custodial in Gillette, who has worked at Houghton for 23 years. Stempert said the banquet was already a tradition when she began working at Houghton. In regards to the location of the banquet every year, Cunningham said that it varies. “During my time here it’s been held in Mount Morris, Olean and Wellsville.” She continued, “I like that we explore different venues in the area and encourages residents to visit different communities outside of campus.”

Rebecca Firstbrook ’18, Assistant Resident Director (ARD) of Gillette, is the one in charge of overseeing the event. About the banquet, she said, “This is one of our three dorm identity building events and it is often considered the most significant because it is off campus and people pay to attend.” Firstbrook said that her favorite part of planning the banquet is watching the Resident Assistants (RAs) come together to help organize and pull off the event. “This will only be the second year where RAs are overseeing the entire event, it used to be overseen by the Event Planning Committee,” she said. Firstbrook is also excited for this year’s theme and venue of the Old Library center. “The towns that they [banquets] are hosted in are a chance to hangout with friends” she said. “A lot of fun memories are made there.”

This will be the third year Kathryn Moore ’18, an RA in Gillette, attends the banquet. She said, “I have always loved seeing classmates get dressed up and for us to all share an experience off campus.” This year, she has been a part of the planning process for the banquet. “It has been an amazing experience” she said, and then went on to describe her specific role in helping to plan the banquet. “I had the opportunity of helping out with the playlist this year, which is one of my favorite things to do. I love the thought of bringing people together through music, and I am confident that the music this year will do that,” she said. “There will be some classics played, a swing dance song, current pop music, some rap, Disney, oldies but goodies, and lots more,” she added. Moore is confident that this year’s banquet will be unforgettable, especially with the elegant venue, decorations, and desserts.

Jensyn Elliott ’17 first went to the banquet when she was a sophomore. She said, “We had a good time at the banquet. We loved the food, and we had a blast dancing as well.” Elliott also stated she felt honored to be a part of Gillette, and she plans on attending this year as well. She said, “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Gillette will also host their tradition of having a prep night on Thursday night before the banquet, which will consist of dancing lessons, makeup and nail tutorials, and crafts in the main lounge. Residents will be able to take what they learned at prep night to get ready for Saturday night, when the real fun begins. Gillette Hall is looking forward to hosting a magical night for all who choose to be their guest.

Two Saturdays ago, on August 30st, the Fillmore Hotel was packed with over a hundred people, the audience of the up and coming local band, Cold Creek. This group is comprised of two Houghton seniors, Holden Potter and Evan Castle. The two began playing music together during their sophomore year, when they both lived on the second floor of Shenawana Hall. As they were the only two guitarists in their hall, they started writing jazz and blues songs together. The next year, they went on to perform at the Homecoming Coffeehouse. Since it was their first time playing live, the performance did not go as well as they had hoped, but the two continued developing their musical style over the next year.

Though their Facebook page refers to their music as being in the genre of “Country Rock Awesomeness”, Castle and Potter characterize their sound as “hip-hop, pop, and country”. They model their songwriting after the artist Sam Hunt, the prominent American country singer. They write their songs as “just a chance to tell a story.” Many of their songs are romantic. Their writing reflects the small-town America rural culture in which they both grew up, in the tradition of country, down-home music. Potter states that “the town of Fillmore had a huge influence…lyrically.” Castle plays the six-string banjo – or ganjo – lead guitar, acoustic, and sings harmonies, while Potter sings lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar. Occasionally, they have a percussionist accompany them.

The group considers themselves to be outside the norm of Houghton bands, since they usually play outside the college and are not a worship band. Most of their following is also outside of the college, since there is a large audience for country music in the surrounding area. The band has done very well recently. They claim that this is due to the fact that there are not many local country bands in the area, and so there is a higher demand for their sound. Their Facebook page has over 350 likes and counting, they have played live gigs in Rushford, Olean and many other nearby towns, and they even competed this past summer in the Country Showdown in Olean and won second place.

This past semester, Cold Creek recorded several tracks with the help of fellow senior, Jordan Sloat. These tracks are available on their Facebook and Soundcloud pages, and they expect to put out an EP within the next month. This EP will be a chance for them to showcase their abilities, featuring pop acoustic songs, southern rock styled songs, and piano ballads, maintaining their common acoustic sound. After Potter graduates in December, he is moving down to Nashville to pursue music, where Castle will follow him after walking in May. From there, the group plans on putting out mixtapes to send to record producers. Cold Creek expects that their music will evolve with the Nashville style – more pop and more creative hooks. They hope that this will add more soul to their sound, bringing their many diverse influences together to create songs that are unique, but accessible.

Their next gig is on September 19th, at 9:00pm in Don’s Semi-Friendly Tavern in Olean. They hope to draw a large crowd and add to their supporters as they move on to the professional world of music production.