Title: Lodj Dinner

Informant info: Informant Name: James Thompson, Location: Hanover, NH, Date: 5/16/16 Dartmouth student, male, Class of 2017, went on Cabin Camping Trip

Type of lore: Customary (Prank & Songs/Dances)

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.

Social / Cultural Context:  Experienced at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge during the latter part of first-year trips

Transcript: I remember the lodj dinner was a pretty big event. When they led us into the lodj and it was completely pitch black. They told us that the power was out and that we would have to hold on to each other’s shoulders to help guide us to our seats. I totally fell for it, for some reason I didn’t think of the fact that a cabin probably had windows which would let in light, which they had covered to make sure it was completely dark. So we all went in, cha-cha style, holding each others shoulders until we were in our seats in the dining hall. At that point the all the lights suddenly came on and there were a bunch of people dressed up in flair all over the place, some were literally standing on ledged above us and hanging on poles and stuff and they all broke into a song and dance performance. It was pretty incredible to be honest. The whole meal followed a similar theme. Each course was presented and served to us as part of an elaborate song and dance routine, even the clean up process was a song. That was really a great time.

Informant’s comments:  i’m not really sure what the point of it was other than to have some fun and entertain us.  That’s basically it.

Collector’s comments:  See overall comments on trips pranks

Tags/Keywords: Lodj, Moosilauke, Dinner, trips, song, dance, prank