A short burst of fireworks will finish the program, though Wainwright says the police asked her to "play that down."

"The kinds of people that come for [fireworks] bring alcohol and cause traffic jams," she explains.

"It's a family affair," Burr says of the party. Many of the other large events will try to stress that theme.

Performing in Tercentenary Theater on Friday night will be famous folk singer Tom Rush '63, who will be joined by Joan Baez and Bonnie Rait, who attended Radcliffe from 1967 to 1970.

"It's a Colt 47 revival type of concert," says 350th publicist David Sanders. Colt 47 was club in Harvard Square during the 50s and 60s where many folk singers played and got their start.

The entire celebration itself is centered around the convocations of Harvard faculty, students and alumni. "They will be like Commencement except with more banners," Sanders says.

In addition to the Prince of Wales, representatives from Cambridge University, Yale University and the University of California will attend the first convocation on Thursday morning. There will be excerpts from past student orations and a colorful faculty procession.

A speaker has yet to be picked to replace President Reagan for the second convocation Friday morning, but Stephenson says his office is working hard on that now. Joining the yet-unnamed speaker will be tapes of speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt '04 and other famous graduates.

The final convocation on Saturday afternoon will feature President Bok.

"The convocations will be large, but they're just a lot of speeches," Sanders says.

And if it rains? Rain will likely destroy the entire celebration. Whereas Harvard usually sets up alternative sites for other gala events, like Commencement, the University has set up no contingency plans for the events in case of bad weather.

"I'm going to park my car right outside of Cambridge and take off with the first shower," says Burr.