A life-size marionette of John Harvard which can actually shake hands;

A glamorous Prince who will speak and eat as well as shake hands;

A gigantic polyurethane rainbow spanning the Charles River to greet the citizens of Cambridge;

A gigantic fireworks display high over Soldiers Field that will say goodbye.

And a venerable television newscaster who will tell us the way it was;

And as long as it doesn't rain, these will probably be among the most lasting memories of Harvard's 350th Birthday celebration next fall.

Despite the fact that the birthday party planners have lined up an impressive array of scholarly symposia, the events that have caught the eye of Boston media and alumni have been the large scale celebrations that will cap off each of the four days of the anniversary.

Many think the birthday part is just going to be a lot of glitz. But President Derek C. Bok disagrees. He says people merely learned of the entertainment events before they knew there would be any symposia at the festivities.

But to accompany the scholarly symposia, planners thought it should also be a real birthday party. And party is the key word.

"We thought we should also have some fun," says Thomas W. Stephenson '37, the executive secretary of the 350th committee.

But fun costs money. And money causes controversy. So when planners started selling tickets to a special Crimson Circle at $175 a head, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Still, more than 3000 alumni and friends mailed in their checks to nab the best seats in the house for the 90 minute extravaganza on Saturday night which will end the four-day birthday party.

For this event, the house will be Soldiers Field Stadium. And the best seats will be between the end zone and the 20-yard line facing the stage at the open end of the stadium, says ticketing chief for the 350th Carol Craig.

The next cheapest seats will be $25 and those at the very far end of the field will cost $12.50, Craig says.

"It will help us pay for the event," says Francis H. Burr '35 of the pricey tickets.

"The Saturday night show should actually generate dollars which will go to other parts of the University," says producer Tommy Walker, who also orchestrated the festivities at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and is organizing the weekend celebration for the Statue of Liberty this July.