Making a frosh start
New CBU students getting a taste of university life
When Sylvain Pourtier decided to study music at Cape Breton University, he knew a little bit about the island’s longtime love affair with the fiddle.
This week the violinist found out firsthand just how big the instrument is in Cape Breton — literally.
The 23-year-old from Bordeaux, France was one of about 70 new CBU students who mimed playing the iconic Big Fiddle in Sydney on Tuesday as part of a downtown scavenger hunt organized by the students union for frosh week.
“I had heard there was a big fiddle tradition,” Pourtier joked later as students gathered in Wentworth Park to show organizers how many of the 30 tasks they’d checked off.
The exchange student, who previously studied music at the University of Limerick in Ireland, said the event was a great way to learn about his new home.
“I’m here only two days now but it’s great,” he said of his early impressions of Cape Breton. “People are very friendly and the place is beautiful.”
Katelyn McPherson, CBU students union vice-president of promotions, said the scavenger hunt was designed to help freshmen and newcomers to the university explore downtown Sydney landmarks and businesses.
In addition to air-playing the Big Fiddle, students performed “YMCA” in front of the YMCA, posed like Col. Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres next to his downtown statue and formed a human pyramid on the boardwalk.
“They loved it. Every time they came back they had smiling faces,” said McPherson, a third-year arts and business student from Sydney. “A lot of them really liked getting a picture with a stranger’s dog, and they liked the fudge as well because they got samples of fudge from Cape Breton Fudge Co. And we had a few things like purchase a non-perishable food item and bring it to Loaves and Fishes, so they enjoyed doing that as well.”
Rebecca Eggefors, a 23-year-old exchange student from Gothenburg, Sweden, was a member of Pourtier’s team, which was hastily assembled once they registered for the scavenger hunt. She said it was a good way to meet people.
“Getting to know other students, I think that was a lot of fun,” said the psychology student, who heard about Cape Breton from a classmate at Linköping University in Sweden. “I came here without a team and we kind of just made a team, which was really nice.”
Devin Cook of New Glasgow, N.S., said he’d been to Cape Breton before to play soccer but had never visited the business district until Tuesday.
“I didn’t realize how nice downtown (Sydney) was — it’s quite beautiful,” said the 18-year-old. “I’m having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of friends.”
McPherson said there are multiple events scheduled before classes begin Monday, including a school-versus-school paint battle, tree planting on the Skyline Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands, a tailgate party for the men’s and women’s Capers soccer team home openers and a closing bonfire Sunday night.
She said one highlight will be tonight’s Caperchella Music and Arts Festival, which takes place from 6-10 p.m. in the CBU courtyard and gives the public a chance to get in on the frosh fun.
“It’s actually a community event, so we’re looking forward to having lots of people out,” she said.
“We’re going to have music, local vendors, a couple of food trucks, a community art project, nail-painting, face-painting — so it’s kind of a festival but it’s open to everybody.”