Lily Charkow, Asst. Arts & Life Editor–
An old tradition was revived on March 29: The Homestead threw an event in association with Doobie Radio. Organized by Mia Marjerison ‘27 and Mick Smith ‘24, the event brought in a large crowd of students to watch student bands perform at the Homestead.
In the past, the Homestead has hosted open mic events during the weekly Friday night dinners. However, it has been a while since an open mic event was thrown. Smith approached Marjerison with the idea of hosting an event in collaboration with the Doobie Radio station, and Marjerison was enthusiastic to help plan the event.
“So the Homestead used to have sort of a ‘live mic’ situation at community dinners a while ago so we wanted to try and reincorporate that, and then Mick Smith, who is part of the Doobie, approached us wanting to an event like that.” Marjerison said.
It was Mick Smith who had the idea of live bands performing at the Homestead in addition to a community dinner.
Once students entered the property, they were met by the friendly faces of the Homestead residents, as well as numerous cats and chickens, who roam freely around the property. The Homestead residents provided pizza, fruit, and drinks for all of the visitors. In addition to live music, a few members of the Homestead gave tours to visitors.
People were shown around Cabin Bob, which is the building where all cooking is done. On the second floor of Bob, there are various shelves stacked to the brim with many different genres of books. These books range from vintage Denison yearbooks to books detailing how to perform first aid on cats. Bob’s details were testaments to the deep history of the property.
“Although Cabin Bob isn’t the oldest building on the Homestead, built around 1966 I think, it holds all the rich history of the Homestead. What was even more fascinating is that the Homesteaders designed and built the cabin themselves as a communal space,” said Allison Lutz ‘27, one of the Homestead’s visitors this past Friday.
“Although Cabin Bob was my favorite building, my favorite feature of the Homestead is all the art and writings lining the walls of all the buildings. The walls serve as a sort of yearbook of the current and previous Homesteaders, with murals and quotations filling up any blank space,” Lutz said.
As well as the charming property, visitors were also provided with live entertainment. Student bands The Overalls, The Cuties, Doghouse, and Waco all performed throughout the night.