Frosted with History: Revive or Reinvent the Winter Ball?

Over 15 years later, the “Winter Ball”, once a staple in StFX’s event calendar, was brought back to students. On Friday, Feb 27th, 2026, the Golden X Inn featured a red carpet lined entrance, white and blue balloons on the walls, and crisp white tablecloths over the booths. When it comes to events, StFX Students’ Union is not new to planning something extravagant. This was shown with the events entertainment, featuring None the Wiser in their first appearance at the Inn. A crowd favourite, they played everything from Footloose to Mr. Brightside and kept the spirit of the crowd up.  

It seems once again the trends are repeating themselves. Recent theme nights at the Inn  have featured events such as “2016 Re-Wind” and now the return of the “Winter Ball”. I attended the event on Friday, looking to see if it was a tradition that should permanently come back. Here’s the recap.  

As promised, the event was as semi-formal winter wonderland. The decorations were sparkly, candles lined tables and everyone was in collared shirts and dresses. Tickets were available at the door, prices scaled back to nostalgic 2000s levels at 10 dollars a pop. Yet there was no line out of the door, unusual for larger events such as this one. If you have ever seen None the Wiser at their monthly appearance at Candid, the place is jammed with people. Despite the lack of a crowd, the event was fun, people sang along to the band (who played amazing) and overall, it was a good excuse to wear your best and dance your heart out. 

But the lower turn-out begs the question: are students looking for the past to be relived? Or are students looking to make new events and traditions, instead of bringing back the old? One can walk around StFX and quickly understand that heritage and tradition is a key part of our school pride. It’s obvious from the buildings, the memorials- it’s everywhere you look. Yet so often it can feel like the events around campus are trying to relive to ‘glory days’. The Winter Ball, which was a great idea, is bringing back something that most students today didn’t even know existed. I believe that for a better turn out, it either takes some significant marketing to get the word out about the event, or, alternately, students are looking to make their own traditions and follow along with more current trends of today. When students go out in Antigonish, they are looking for where everyone else is, and that has to be where things are new; exciting. The question for the Inn is – what draws people? And I believe the answer is events that bring new life to the student body. 

The Winter Ball at the Golden X Inn was everything it said it would be- amazing band, great decorations and a dress code that impresses. But as nostalgia seems to be taking over most aspects of the media right now, it seems the Inn is following. But instead of looking backward, I’m excited for the Inn to take a new step forards- towards events that bring back the past in a way that is fitting for the present.