Featuring many changes this year, the winter event formerly known as Winterfest will take place on Feb. 21. Members of Student Council have been working towards a revamped event with a new name to be announced prior to winter break. 

Student Council sponsor Steven Soszko says the event will not follow last year’s structure with a mosh pit and a side area for games. Instead, there will be several activities and stages, likely in various locations in the West building. Student Council Vice President Logan Trojan ’26 and others on Student Council are mindful of the evolving culture of Stevenson as they make changes to the event.

“We want to represent the student body the best and give them exactly what they want and exactly what they’re going to enjoy,” Trojan said.

Since 2014 when attendance was first tracked, the number of people who attended Winterfest has never been lower than in 2025 with 1,260 attendees. In order to address decreased interest, Student Council is planning on including a wider variety of entertainment. The changes continue transforming the dance into a festival, a shift that began over a decade ago according to Soszko.

The winter event, originally called Turnabout, used to be a formal dance where girls asked guys out. However, according to Sozko, in 2013 Turnabout was renamed to Winterfest when Stevenson’s previous entertainment company pitched the idea. The company suggested a dance where students have several options to hang out instead of the standard dance mosh pit. 

Director of Student Activities David Eddy said there was a neon theme and a black light party the first year of Winterfest; Soszko adds that the festival-like atmosphere was a huge hit with students. He believes that added activities, including a silent disco and wipeout machine, drew in more students over the years. Despite attendance of over 2,000 students in 2023, for every five students that came to Winterfest in 2023, three attended in 2025.

“Although Winterfest had been popular because it had been new and interesting, it may have had a decline in participation because it does mirror a lot of what Homecoming has,” Eddy said.

Eddy believes students are often busy with clubs and competitions in the winter season—a major reason why the event needs to be different from the fall dance. He notes that Streetfest is engaging for students due to the variety of performances and activities available. Similarly, he says he’s excited to see how the winter event will change as the Student Council includes different stages and entertainment.

Besides the addition of activities, Student Council members also aim to create a unique experience by providing food. Winterfest included a full seated dinner over a decade ago, and Trojan confirmed food will be brought back to the event this year. 

“Food is something that all students love, and we believe we need to cater to the students’ interests,” Trojan said. “We want students to be able to eat as much food as their hearts desire, so we are including these food options with their ticket for admission.”

With the addition of food and different activities, Soszko hopes that students will walk away feeling the event was different from the other dances. He said changing Turnabout to Winterfest created a whole new experience for students, increasing attendance after a few years. Similarly, he believes the upcoming changes will be another necessary reboot that will hopefully increase future student involvement in the event.

“I want them to look at it and say, ‘wow, that was a fun atmosphere. That was something that we could definitely see ourselves going and doing year in and year out,’” Soszko said.