The Tiki god hath descended upon the earth. To celebrate, Tiki's subjects basked in the outdoor couches on the La Casa lawn in Hawaiian shirts with their faces illuminated by chili pepper, parrot and tea lights. Tiki torches stood proudly in the distance as the subjects, one by one, got lei-ed.

"We called it the second annual Casa Tiki Party," said Aimee Wilczynski '03, who, with Elizabeth Waffarn '04, organized the event. "We basically enjoyed each other's company."

The Tiki god's reception itself was not to last for long, however. "At one point we played 'Earth Angel' and a couple of guys started to pretend they were in one of those '50s groups," said Wilczynski. "There was also a pool tournament-East Coast versus West Coast. I don't know who won but I was rooting for the West Coast."

Even though the party moved indoors because of chilly weather, people continued to enjoy themselves.

"It was a little bit cold outside, but Aimee did a great job with the Tiki party, complete with the [custom-made, palm tree-shaped] cake, and everything," said Angelica Corral '05. "It turned into an hour of playing pool and there was dancing to merengue and speaking in Spanish."

"I loved it; it was fun," said Jason Nino '05. "Only the weather didn't work out. One girl was actually wearing five layers!"

"People were getting jiggy with it," said Alex Gomez del Moral '03. "I thought the party was cool. It was the kind of activity that adds to the theme houses. It shows not only the educational component of the houses, but how they add to the social life of the campus ... Latin music was blasting, I got to chill with my friends and everyone was having a good time."

Unlocking the word

This weekend, six nationally-recognized storytellers used the power of words to take students and members of the community away from the Campus Center Frontroom to a world all their own.

"It was engaging and very interactive," said Joanne Wang '04. "It made me feel like a kid again. I was definitely more into it than the kids."

Associate Dean of Students and founder of the festival Onawumi Jean Moss along with San Francisco's Diane Ferlatte, Connecticut's Catherine Conant, Chocktaw Indian Tim Tingle and Amherst residents Eshu Bumpus and Motoko, regaled audiences with folktales, fables, original stories and a cappella singing. All ages were enthralled by the storytellers and their tales.

"I felt that the speakers really transformed themselves into the characters they were portraying," said Christian Sanchez '05. "Their … tones and gestures were flawless."

At the last show of the weekend, dubbed "Stories for Older Folk and those who love them," Motoko told a traditional Japanese tale, which she described as about "a young woman and … well, you'll find out."

The audience was captivated and highly amused by the story, which they found out was about a young woman Chiyo and her powerful flatulence-strong enough to level the emperor's castle and throw people 10 miles down the road.

Despite the fact that the later shows were aimed towards older folk, many College students crashed the party at the afternoon shows intended for children. "It was fun for the kids and for me too," said Kat Eibensteiner '04. "[Ferlatte] was a good storyteller. She got everyone involved and singing."