The Whitney Avenue campus was animated with entertainment and live musical performances, lawn games and arts-and-crafts, and a cookout as the Upper School community came together for the celebration of arts at the annual MayFest event.

MayFest 2025 was organized by the efforts of seniors Josh Aversa and Delilah Hodge along with Upper School Dean of Students John Greenawalt and faculty member Jon West. The festival dates back to 2013 where it began as a two-day celebration at the Beckerman Athletic Center showcasing the creative and musical talents of students and faculty. This year’s festivities were held on the main campus after previously having taken place at the Davis Street Campus starting back in 2021.

Upper School students and faculty had the opportunity to partake in a myriad of fun activities and games hosted by student-led clubs including a tie-dye T-shirt station sponsored by Pride Alliance, DIY spray-painted sports bags with the Dance Club, knitting and crocheting sponsored by the Fibers Arts Club, traditional board games with the Chinese Culture Club, a spicy noodle food challenge station, and a Boba tea station. On the lawn next to the ACK building were games of spikeball and cornhole along with a dunk tank and volleyball across the parking lot. 

Taylor Gymnasium served as the main stage for the student-performers with musical acts by senior Alex Yi on guitar performing Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, junior Mae McDonnell signing Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish, juniors Sonja Brown and Alma Goren-Eisenberg performing Je Veux by Zaz, and junior Nyx Sanborn and freshman Lara Ozacan performing In Bloom by Nirvana and Creep by Radiohead. Other performances included a piano solo by freshman Abella Chang, an acapella rendition of Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield by Upper School group On a High Note, a hip-hop number by members of the Dance Club, and much more.

The celebration of the arts continued into the evening as Arts Department Chair Caryn Azoff hosted the Open Studio Art Show. The exhibit featured student artwork in the mediums of ceramics, drawing, digital photography, multimedia design, and painting. Following the art show, students were also invited to the Thespian Miscast performance hosted by the Theatre Department. The special event asks performers to take on roles they wouldn't typically be cast in, often due to gender, age, or voice type, and then sing songs from those roles in the Taylor Performing Arts Center.

“A big thank you to everyone who helped make Mayfest a big success including Mr. Greenawalt, Mr. West, Kevin Stawitz, Jim Hunter, and all the facilities crew for all their hard work,” said Director of Upper School Kim Porto 1987.