Let It Sneaux! Loyola University Transforms into Winter Wonderland During the Annual Holiday Celebration

Loyola University will usher in the holiday season next week with its annual “Sneaux” celebration, enhanced this year by the work of design students who will illuminate the historic Marquette Hall with vibrant, motion projections.

The free, annual event welcomes all members of the Loyola community – including students, faculty, staff and alumni – as well as friends and neighbors, to campus on Dec. 2, from 6-8 p.m., where more than 20 tons of man-made “Sneaux” will fall on the lawn outside Marquette Hall and the Horseshoe.

Attendees will be able to take photographs with Santa and Mrs. Claus, while enjoying hot chocolate and cookies, and listening to Christmas music, said Sydney Begoun, Associate Director of Student Life and Ministry at Loyola. Throughout the evening, the Loyno Express Train will run, taking riders around Santa’s workshop and meeting holiday characters along the way, she said.

Now in its second year, a projected holiday celebration known as Loyno Fête will light up the night and turn classroom-scale projects into large-scale visual experiences, said Matt Normand, Professor of Practice in Design at Loyola.

The work of design students will illuminate Marquette Hall and The Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center with advent-themed typographic projections and a festive “wreath drop” onto Marquette Hall, an effort coordinated in collaboration with Associate Director of Ministry Ken Weber, Normand said.

The students developed the holiday-themed animations across multiple courses, from Motion 1 to Broadcast Motion, with each contributing standout work that forms the centerpiece of this year’s Loyno Fête, he said.