By Vivian Roach | Desk Editor
After being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, Diadeloso returned this year as a week-long event, though it has historically spanned only one day.
The Baylor Chamber of Commerce will be hosting events each night this week, starting with a student showcase Monday night in the SUB Bowl. Student performers, Baylor Men’s Choir, Baylor Phi Beta Sigma, Baylor Religious Hour choir, Filipino Student Association and a live art showcase shared the Student Union Board (SUB) bowl “stage” with assigned time slots.
Parker Hoffman, Men’s Choir social media coordinator and member, said he was excited to finally share some of their music with the in-person audience during Diadeloso week. He said they’ve been holding rehearsals all semester, but up to this point, performances were virtual and posted on their YouTube page.
“We have done a little bit of stuff with Dia in the past, but it’s not usually something that we do,” Hoffman said. “So, that’s really exciting for us to be able to perform for an event that’s such a big part of Baylor student tradition.”
Hoffman said the Men’s Choir planned to perform a mix of songs, from classic songs that they sing every year such as “Praise His Holy Name,” to a song from the Civil War era about the Underground Railroad, as well as a classical song in Latin and pop renditions by Elton John to close the night.
“Lots of variety, lots of different things happening, that’s sort of one of the hallmarks of Men’s Choir is just sort of the variety that you get here,” Hoffman said. “We’re open to singing tons of different styles of music and that’s something that really marks the experience of Baylor Men’s Choir.”
The following few days will include an “amped-up” version of Dr Pepper hour, movie night, a concert (artist yet to be announced) and games on Fountain Mall. The week will conclude with the spring Baylor Football Green and Gold Game at McLane Stadium on Saturday and a campus-wide scavenger hunt.
The scavenger hunt is hosted by Waco Escape Rooms, which escape room owner and Baylor alumnus Corey Dickman said has been hosting similar events around the city since last June.
“We debuted this style of game last June for the city of Waco, kind of for COVID, but we were always going to do a city-wide scavenger hunt style escape game,” Dickman said.
Upon arrival, Dickman said groups will download an app and enter a code provided at that time to start. First, they will solve a puzzle on their phone to unlock a location around campus where groups will have to complete another task before moving on.
“Groups are judged on their time, but they also can score points while playing the game,” Dickman said. “The way that works is every time they need to use a hint, they can use a hint on their phone, much like if you’re asking for a clue at the escape room itself. Every time they have to use a hint, it takes away a point. They can get a perfect score, but then it will come down to how quickly they did it too. So it’s about scoring points but it’s also about a race against time as well.”
Dickman said they are working with Baylor Chamber and local partner businesses to award a prize at the end to whichever group ends up on top.
The full schedule of events can be found on the Baylor website.
