When asked what their favorite tradition at Peddie is, nine out of ten times, a Peddie student will tell you it is Blair Day, spirit week, or a variation of the two. It’s for good reason: During Blair Day, school spirit runs the highest it will ever be, as Blair and Peddie compete across various sport disciplines to win the Kelley-Potter cup. This legendary prep school rivalry is bound to be a cornerstone of any Peddie student’s experience, no matter whether a student is cheering on athletes from the sidelines or if they are on the field themselves playing for a point.
This year, Blair Day will be on Saturday, November 8, and most teams will compete away at Blair (though some will have already played prior to the event day). For every winning event, the respective team obtains a point, and the school with the most points at the end of the day wins the cup for the year. The teams participating in Blair Day include co-ed cross country, girls tennis, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls field hockey (all of these at both varsity and junior varsity levels) and finally the iconic football game to close off the day.
In the week prior to Blair Day, though, school spirit runs just as high as on the actual day, and the lively student body comes together to show their Peddie pride. Firstly, each class decorates a different part of campus so that each building and sidewalk glitters with blue and gold, with streamers, banners, posters, ribbons, you name it. Day students and each dorm compete to create the banner that best shows off Peddie pride. Then, for spirit week, there is a different theme each day, and students can display their creativity and fun by dressing up according to the theme. The schedule is as follows:
Monday, Nov 3: Pajama day/anything but a backpack day
Tuesday, Nov 4: Jersey (Jersey shore) vs Jersey (sports jersey)
Wednesday, Nov 5: Decades day (’29: 1950s; ’28: 1960s; ’27: 1970s; ’26: 1980s)
Thursday, Nov 6: Farmers day
Friday, Nov 7: Blue and gold day
Then, on Friday — where students deck out in blue and gold, Peddie’s colors — the Blair Day chapel is hosted in the morning and then the pep rally in the evening, where varsity teams perform dances and a variety of other activities are hosted. The pep rally then finally ends with a bonfire. The next day, the teams face off, and the entire school comes together to bask in the glow of the day: the excitement, the nerves, the unity and school pride.
In the end, Blair Day and spirit week have cemented themselves as the hallmark of the Peddie experience. With over a century of history, this event brings out the best and the most excellent of Peddie’s school spirit, and it will continue to do so for many more years to come.
