EXTRA!

Spring Fling 2003

Women with kaleidoscope eyes. Men with blonde wigs. Baroclinically Buoyant Amateurs kicking up their heels. Gaggles of scientists bearing torches and peace signs. An unnaturally predictive weatherman.

Yes, folks, another lip sync competition come and gone.

This year’s annual Spring Fling on 9 May drew hundreds of staffers and their families for food, music, and the Tarot & Astrology Lip Sync contest. The party, usually held behind FL 2, was moved to Center Green auditorium because of a cold rain.

Daniel Ziskin hosted the event for the Employee Activities Committee. He set the tone early, introducing the purple-clad and fortune ball-bearing judges as people who "know how to behave with decorum."

Kicking off the contest, Wendy Abshire and Bob Roesch performed a rousing rendition of "My Husband Was a Weatherman," an admittedly obscure song by the Bobs. Our Bob performed excellently as the weatherman who could predict his wife’s cooking and, er, bedtime successes, chasing a frustrated Wendy out of his life but predicting her eventual return.

Next up, RAP produced a peace-promoting and planet-spinning version of "Aquarius." Deirdre Garvey led the rousing performance, helped out by children of several staffers, including, far left, J.P. Gallo (Inger Gallo's son), Phoebe Breed (Dan Breed's daughter), and Kelsey Park (Carol Park’s daughter).

Then came the Association of Baroclinically Buoyant Amateurs, an acronym-happy quartet better known as ABBA that featured performers from MMM and Communications. Ellen Leslie donned a blonde wig for an energetic performance of "Dancing Queen."

Although the joyous lip sync celebrations are not customarily a time for scientific competition, MMM staffers bearing torches faced off over math equations to the throbbing beat of "Eye of the Tiger." The performance climaxed with a tug-of-war featuring, among others, Bob Hueftle (left), Kathy Morgan, and David Ahijevych.

EO performed a reprise of "Aquarius," then launched into a literal interpretation of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Heidi Lewis portrayed the girl with kaleidoscope eyes, as Tim Barnes sang the Beatles classic and Jocelyn White maintained the tangerine trees.

Wrapping up the show, the "Ladies of HR"—including Bob Roesch in blonde—danced blissfully to the disco beat of "Ladies Night." Dressed for the occasion were LuAnna Sago (left), Cheryl Cristanelli, and Katy Schmoll.

How to decide the winner? "Tough decision," groused one of the judges, Chris Knoetgen. "No bribes."

In the end, the judges named EO the overall winner. They awarded prizes to a number of other performers and groups, including Bob Roesch for playing both a man and a woman (the "Victor-Victoria" award), HR for its hot dancing (the "sexiest performance" award), and MMM for its scientific squabbles ("best use of collaborative science").

As always, the EAC did an excellent job pulling together the event—thanks in no small part to Daniel; Teresa Harris, who helped chair the event; Eron Brennan, who provided the sound system; and other committee members. Velma Ryan and the food services team served up a great vegetarian buffet; Rhythm Method provided musical entertainment; and psychics (including card-readers and an astrologer) provided additional insights.

Stay tuned for video clips to be posted on this page. VHS copies of the complete Spring Fling video will be available for loan from the ML and FL libraries.

View the complete photo album here.