From practical jokes to academic gowns, the traditions at King's root undergraduates in the web of shared experiences that flavour the history of our College.

Ask any member of the King's community what sets this university apart, and, after its small size and the integrated, interdisciplinary experience, the reasons will undoubtedly land on the rich traditions that season the College's character. You'll hear about Bay parties, frivols at College Christmas, the week of Encaenia festivities at graduation and the Young Alexandra Society Ball. You'll hear about donning academic gowns for Formal Meal, Matriculation and chapel, and about heading out into the night for ghost tours and water fights. You'll hear about theatre productions and sock hops and you'll hear about sherry in the Lodge.

Many of the traditions at King's have grown out of the residential collegiate life that characterized Oxford, upon which the College was modeled. Professors lived among students and dons were members of the faculty, and this close proximity had a profound impact on the culture of King's. The historic relationship with the Anglican Church also shaped many traditions at the College and other traditions, like Matriculation, have been created in the style of the older activities that inspired them. And finally, the students of the College have spawned their own traditions, such as the Three-Legged Race and many student societies, which, although not part of the school's formal culture, are integral to what makes King's unique.

Here's a more detailed look at some of the College's traditions:

April Fool's Day Water Fight

When the clock strikes midnight for April 1, any King's student caught out in the Quad can expect to be soaked—or should start running. Armed with water balloons and squirt guns, the students of the College engage in a full-blown campus-wide water fight, all under the cover of darkness. Proving that even us prim and proper Kingsfolk have a dark, rebellious side lurking underneath, the April Fools event yields shrieks and snickers and dozens upon dozens of drenched students. In recent years, the Chair of Bays and President of Alex Hall have taken a large part in organizing the event, pitting Alex Hall against the Bays (which turns into, with a few exceptions, a water-fueled game of girls against boys).

Big Night

Bringing together students, faculty and staff to share their artistic (and sometimes, not-so-artistic) gifts with each other, Big Night is the College's annual exhibit of campus talent. The night was spearheaded in 2002 by then Dean of Residence Kelley Castle in an effort to provide an additional venue in which the College could be come together as a whole, and a chance for students to showcase their strengths. Featuring musicians, dancers, and artists of every sort, Big Night has proven more and more successful each year.

Classics in the Quad

An annual performance held in the King's Quad on the Library steps, Classics in the Quad works to tie students, curriculum and community together. Playing off the tragedies students study in the Foundation Year Programme, the play performed must be piece of Greek theatre from the classical period, approached as a period piece. With the majority of the production's cast in first year, and with such students being given preference for lead roles, Classics in the Quad also ensures a new crop of talent is cultivated and added to the King's Theatrical Society ranks. Held in the Quad, the performance and rehearsals take place outside and are fraught with the many disadvantages and advantages of such a location. Scheduling is at the mercy of weather conditions and sundown, but the natural light and beautiful setting of the Quad make up for any woes.

College Christmas

Typically held on Advent Sunday, the first of four Sundays before Christmas, College Christmas is an annual tradition that sets the holiday spirit on campus. Though the festivities have changed over the years, today they start in Prince Hall with brunch, are followed by the Lessons and Carols service in the King's Chapel, and continue on to the President's Lodge for a Christmas reception. The festive day is finished off with Frivols, a Haliburton Society-hosted event of Christmas readings and music by candlelight when mulled wine, cider and dainties are served to a group of eagerly listening students, faculty and other members of the King's community.

Formal Meal

From the earliest days of the College, residence students have gathered to eat the main meal of the day together in a formal setting. Much like today, the students all wore academic gowns and heard traditional Latin graces, and etiquette rules were put in place. These basic, simple formalities of Formal Meal at King's have remained relatively unchanged for 200 years, with 150 of those maintaining the once-a-day schedule. After 1972, though, the meal was held only once a week for two decades, then twice a month from 1993-2001.

Since 2003, Formal Meal has been held monthly, beginning at 6:00 p.m., and provides an opportunity for staff and students to dine together while listening to invited speakers, typically alumni or fellow professors. Attendees today wear their academic gowns, and etiquette requires students stand until the head table arrives and the Latin grace has been said, as well as ask permission from the President if an early leave before formal dismissal is necessary. The gowns, the grace and ritual become familiar territory for King's students and alumni, a palatable experience of what it means to be part of the King's community.

FYP Final Lecture

The final lecture of the Foundation Year Programme each year provides a ritual close to the academic year, and is followed by a reception to which all the programme coordinators, associate fellows, Inglis professors and key members of the King's community are invited. The lecture itself is delivered by an individual the Foundation Year Programme wants to honour in some way, such as a retiring or retired professor, or a long-time contributor. The lecturer doesn't speak on a topic that belongs to the curriculum, but instead provides an overview, offering students a new prospective on their FYP experience.

Ghost Tours

Some believe that the King's College campus is host to its fair share of strange happenings and perturbed spirits. One night during each year's Frosh Week, a few brave frosh leaders who have had first-hand experience with such supernatural activities meet at the flagpole at midnight to lead new students on a tour of the haunted facilities. Each one of the residence buildings has its own batch of stories, some of which date back before the fire that ravaged the College in 1920, when it was located in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Even to the skeptical, the Ghost Tour experience is peculiar, to say the least.

Matriculation

During the 19th and 20th centuries, a student wishing to study at King's had to pass a Matriculation Exam. Subjects included Latin, Greek, French or German, Mathematics and English. In addition to writing the exams, the candidate had to present a certificate of good moral conduct extending over a period of not less than eighteen months prior to the exam.

Once candidates fulfilled these criteria, they were welcomed as members of King's and their names were entered in the register, or Matricula (the College's first Matricula dates back to 1803). Alongside the names were written the students' age, place of birth, secondary education, father's name, residence and occupation. The Matricula can be viewed on display on the lower level of the Library.

Today's Matriculation ceremony, instituted in its present form during the 1980s, formally makes new students members of King's. Dressed in the College's traditional academic gowns, students inscribe their names in the Matricula, symbolically joining the community of thousands of King's men and women who have come before them.

Middle Bay Gentleman's Club

The Gentleman's Club was started by Anthony Burton in the early '80s as a dining society, and has since experienced change and growth over the years. The club now hosts four events per year; the first event each term is a dinner for current members of the Bay and the latter is a reception these current members host for former residents of the Bay, a way of encouraging interaction between first-year and upper-year students. Regularly, faculty members are invited as guest speakers, recounting stories of their own time in residence at King's. Visits from Wayne Hankey, a longtime College professor, are always a favourite, and guests in recent years have included Ian Stewart, Peter O'Brien, Father Gary Thorne, Nicholas Hatt, Thom Curran, Daniel Brandes, Ron Haflidson, Neil Robertson and Gary McGonagill, among others. Middle Bay isn't the only of the residences to have a club in its name; King's College was also host to the Radical Bay Club, which was founded in1881 for the purpose of reading aloud English authors. The Club’s minute books record 542 meetings between 1881 and 1947, during which readings ranged from plays by Shakespeare to poems from A. A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young.