This year's Winter Bash event will be held at the Copley Place Marriott Hotel on Jan. 28.
For the second year in a row the event will take place at a Boston hotel, with some revisions to last year's event.
Most of the logistics of the off−campus event, including the bus loading and ticket systems, will be run in the same manner as last year, according to Programming Board Co−Chair Sarah Habib. Programming Board, in conjunction with the Office for Campus Life (OCL), sponsors and coordinates the annual event.
"It's going to be an identical event at a new location," Habib, a senior, said. She said the Sheraton was unavailable because the event space is currently under renovation.
"We created a pretty good recipe last year, and we tried to keep everything the same while just adapting to a new venue," OCL Assistant Director David McGraw said.
OCL Director Joe Golia agreed. "We felt that Winter Bash was very successful last year, especially doing something of this size for the first time in Boston," he said.
Golia felt that the new space offers certain improvements over last year's venue. "The space is very beautiful, and it's all on one floor, which is a plus. The 21−plus area has its own separate area at the back," he said.
One of the new improvements will be the coat check process, Habib said. Last year, the event drew criticism from attendees for a coat check process that resulted in widespread confusion, long lines and some lost coats.
"The coat check last year was mayhem," Habib said. "This year it is completely new and improved. It will be a self−service coat check with three thousand coat hooks spread out through a couple of different rooms."
"We're working with the hotel to make sure that space will not be an issue," Programming Board Co−Chair Adam Fischer said, referring to the coat check.
Tickets will be priced at $10, the same as last year, according to Habib. She said the tickets are expected to go on sale online starting on Jan. 17, and can be picked up in the Mayer Campus Center beginning Jan. 21.
Beginning Jan. 24, remaining tickets will also be made available at the Information Booth in the campus center, according to Fischer, a senior.
Habib said the proximity of the event to the start of the semester necessitated the online sale. "The reason we have to start selling tickets before school is because ... Winter Bash is the second week that we get back to school, so we needed to make sure there was enough time to sell them," Habib, said.
Golia advised students to buy tickets early and said event coordinators will be enforcing stricter bus times this year.
"I would just encourage people to buy their tickets early so that they can get their preferred bus times, because we are going to try to make sure that students adhere to their specific bus−loading times," Golia said.
"We hope more students come this year," Golia said. "Last year we had a little over 2,700 students, and we can fit up to 3,000 students in the ballroom."
He also praised the general conduct of attendees at last year's event. Winter Bash had been moved off−campus in an attempt to avert the drunkenly destructive behavior that marred the Winter Bash held the year before.
"Student behavior was really good last year," Golia said. "The hotel was really pleased with us; we had minimal problems."
"We're really excited for it," Fischer said, noting that extensive planning is involved with preparing an event for the entire student body.
"We think that it is going to be great space and a beautiful location … we think that Winter Bash will be a huge success and are hoping the student body enjoys it," Fischer said.
McGraw expressed similar optimism. "I think that it's going to be another great event, and I'm glad to see that this has become a yearly tradition. I think it will be one of the more standout events of the year and am glad to be part of it, and I hope students come out and enjoy themselves," he said.
