A few years back, one of my best friends decided to transfer from Northwestern to the University of Pennsylvania. While this was really sad for me, it does have a perk: I now get to visit Penn anytime I want! This past weekend was Penn's Spring Fling, which had been described to me as "Penn's Dillo" by my friend. While this was pretty accurate, I noticed a decent number of differences, which I'd like to lay out here (Note: I will not be assessing which is "better," both because that could be offensive to my friends at either school and because I loved them both equally so it wouldn't make sense anyway).
*Disclaimer: Any of these observations may have been based more on the different groups of people I was with as opposed to more structural differences between events. Again, these were just my observations from three/two (depending on how you count last year's failure) Dillo Days and two days of Spring Fling.
Time Frame
Obviously, Fling just happened while Dillo won't be for another month. But there's more to the differences in timing than the date. First, Fling tends to be a three-day-long event. No, I'm not joking. The fun starts on Wednesday or Thursday and lasts until late Saturday afternoon. On the other hand, Dillo is one day only: Saturday. However, Dillo festivities tend to start super early in the morning, while Fling fun is a little bit more laid back due to the extended time frame. While I normally start my day at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. on Dillo, my (sadly, only) two days of Fling got rolling around 11 a.m. or 12 p.m..
Location
No, I'm not talking about the fact that one is in Evanston while the other is in Philly. The events take place on very different places on campus. In both cases, most days start out individually, hanging out with friends either in dorms or off-campus apartments or houses. But the real action takes place a little bit later. At Fling, everybody heads to the quad, two joined grassy areas between all of the freshman dorms on campus. Security is hard getting in: each student must swipe in with their student ID, and all bags are searched. Guests are given an access card (basically a hotel room key) and must enter with their hosts. Dillo takes place on the Lakefill, a part of Lake Michigan that was literally filled in at some point in NU's past (take that, conservation laws). The lake views are gorgeous and there's ample open space for any outdoor activities a NU student could wish for. My personal favorites include napping on the painted rocks along the water. Security is very similar, although music festival wristbands (think Lolla) were implemented last year instead of the basic Wildcard scan. Guests get their own wristbands, and theoretically also have to enter with their hosts, although this policy is a little bit more lax at NU. Just like at Fling, bags are searched upon entry.
Activities
This is where the real differences strike. Fling activities in the quad are super fun: there are stages in each quad (upper and lower) with student dance and musical groups performing at all times. This year, the upper quad hosted a bouncy house and an inflatable wrestling ring (so questionable), while the lower quad had human bowling (think running towards pins in a giant inflatable hamster ball) and food stands. The Lakefill at Dillo has pretty similar things, although there are fewer (if any) inflatables and more food trucks. The biggest difference is that the Fling concerts are held at a completely different venue (and tickets cost money), while Northwestern students get free entry to all of the mainstage concerts right on the Lakefill. The drawbacks of the paid tickets are obvious, but they also mean that more expensive acts can be booked (this year was Chance the Rapper and 3lou. Yes, Northwestern had Chance a few years ago, but he wasn't nearly as big as he is now). Because Fling's main concerts aren't free, the culture of the event focuses much more on having fun outside, while Dillo feels much more like a music festival.
I had a blast at Fling, and I can't wait to have my (sadly) last Dillo this year. In the end, they're both events that celebrate the end(ish) of the school years and the return of warm weather, and what could be better than that?
