The doors of the chapel swing open to let in the students who have waited outside all day for the best seats. Chair after chair, row after row, the chapel fills as the students and faculty pour in, ready to see what this year’s acts will bring to the stage. It’s Mountain Affair time.
Mountain Affair is a staple Covenant College event that showcases student body talent. It began as an event put on by Admissions for prospective students who visit during Preview Weekends. Over the years, the acts have ranged from band covers to rare instruments, to original music, to glow in the dark hula hoops.
There’s one thing that’s missing these days from Mountain Affair: non-musical acts. The event has become more Covenant’s version of Battle of the Bands than a variety show.
“We encourage non-musical acts to audition,” said the chapel department’s Kathryn Wieldraayer. “We usually get very few.”
Weildraayer attributed the lack of non-musical acts to the perception that Mountain Affair is meant for musical acts, saying, “If the student body thinks that, then non-musical acts don’t really want to audition because they think it’s just for bands.”
Out of 26 acts, only two non-musical acts were set to audition this year. Sophomore Logan Roy had prepared a skit for his audition. Freshman Matthew Fleetham planned to show off the yoyo tricks that he learned six years ago.
Matthew Fleetman '27 winner of Mountain Affair 2023.
“I want to show people that yoyoing isn’t just something that little kids do,” said Fleetham. “I've done talent shows in the past, and everyone says that the yoyo really stands out because it's something unique that people haven’t really seen before.”
Fleetham said he is confident that his act will be put in the show despite being non-musical. “I actually came here in middle school for The Edge Conference, and I won a talent show in the chapel,” he said. “It would be cool to relive that.”
Chaplain Grant Lowe recalled two of what he considered to be the best acts that he has seen in Mountain Affair. One was musical and the other was not. “Sam Miller did a violin act in 2016,” said Lowe. “He was sampling his violin, playing it, then looping it, then he just went nuts. It was deadly.”
Lowe’s second most notable act was the winner of Mountain Affair 2019, an act called Kaleidoscope Kiwi, featuring Hannah Wade doing a light up hula hoop show. “She killed the lights and the student body went crazy,” said Lowe.
The chapel department loves hosting the event because it is a chance for Covenant students to show how talented they are even if they aren’t well known around campus.
“One of the best things about Mountain Affair is the people who come out of the woodworks,” said Wieldraayer. “The best part is seeing the people that no one really knows is good.”
This year, the chapel department enlisted John Michael Foreman and Matt Brown as directors of the show. Foreman and Brown are musicians who were participants in the first few Mountain Affair events. They had a vision in place that they hope will make Mountain Affair 2023 the best it has ever been.
Matthew Fleetham did get to relive his talent show win with his yoyo win at Mountain Affair!