Amidst a Hollywood backdrop, the 101st May Day celebration was presented on April 28. In accordance with the theme “An Evening in La La Land,” the main gym was decorated with stars and a variety of Los Angeles paraphernalia. May Day was performed twice, once in the afternoon and once in the evening, and showcased traditional May Day festivities including student performances. Students displayed musical talents in a variety of disciplines, ranging from musical theater to contemporary dance.  

One of the more anticipated performances for May Day came from student band Queen Anne’s Lace. Malaika Ruirie, junior, came to May Day to see the band perform with her friends.

“I saw one of them repost on Instagram,” Ruirie said. “So we were like ‘this looks interesting’ and we [saw] one of the lead guys from last year was in [this] band.” 

Queen Anne’s Lace performed “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. The Monoliers, another student band, also showcased their music on May Day. They performed an original song, titled “Spray Tans and Indie Bands.” Bella Paladeni, senior, saw the Monoliers’ afternoon performance. 

“I thought their guitar[ist] was awesome,” Paladeni said.

Though there were a number of group acts, some students chose to perform solo. Steven Walker, sophomore, sang “Henehene Kou’ Aka” while playing the song on his ukulele. Uma Grover, senior, saw the entirety of the May Day lineup. 

“I thought it was pretty epic,” Grover said. “The person who did the ukulele was good. Good playing, people are talented.” 

Thabela Fashu-Kanu, junior, shared what she was looking forward to prior to the start of May Day.  

“I’m looking forward to seeing my friends Jonathan [Garcia] and Sofia [Gomez] perform,” Fashu-Kanu said. “They’re both singing and I’m very excited to hear that.”

Thespians Gomez and Garcia, juniors, performed songs from the musicals “A Chorus Line” and “Evita,” respectively. 

Like May Day, the maypole is a century-old tradition. The maypole is performed by freshmen students, who wrap pastel-colored ribbons around a pole to celebrate the arrival of summer. Brooklyn Schiele, sophomore, was watching the maypole on May Day. 

“I actually thought it was really cute,” Schiele said. “It was executed very nicely.”  

Emma Fang, senior, was a spectator at May Day as well as a performer. She performed a contemporary dance with Averie Goff, sophomore. Goff is also ASB class director for the sophomore class.

“[Goff] and I have danced together for five [to] six years,” Fang said. “We’ve been on the same team for two years.”

The duo danced to the song “There Will Be Time” by Mumford & Sons.

“It’s centered around celebrating relationships and looking towards the future and appreciating all that stuff,” Fang said. 

Originally, the choreography they performed was meant for a team of 14 people, but Fang and Goff redesigned the dance for two people for their May Day performance. 

“We just found any moments in the dance where there was no movement and just did parts that other people originally had,” Fang said. “And [we] changed the formations so we were side by side instead of in different parts of a larger formation.”  

Some of the other acts included a glow-in-the-dark performance from the Varsity Lions Dance Team, music and accompaniment throughout from the Jazz Lab Band, and a piano performance from Karen Chan, sophomore.  

To see more stories about the 101st May Day, click here to view all May Day stories.