Students play with volleyballs and inflatable beach balls at Friday evening's "Cape Crimson" event, held as this year's welcome back celebration for students.

Adams House Master John G. “Sean” Palfrey ’67 sat patiently in his yellow Adams T-shirt and blue swim trunks, swinging his legs as he waited for someone to hit the red button.

When a baseball finally hit its mark, Palfrey slid smoothly into the water below, his arms forming a “V” for victory.

“It’s about time,” Palfrey said, grinning as he rose from the water.

Palfrey joined House Committee chairs from each House as voluntary victims of the dunk tank at “Cape Crimson”—this year's welcome back event hosted by the College Events Board.

Students filled Tercentenary Theatre Friday evening, drawn by the promise of a dunk tank and a Slip ‘n Slide, and forced from their Houses by their dining halls’ shut doors.

Red, blue, and yellow umbrellas dotted the lawn as students tossed “Welcome Back” Frisbees and bounced around inflatable beach balls.

CEB secretary Ece Erdagoz ’14 said that the group settled on the Cape Crimson concept because it wanted a them that fit with the end of summer season.

“We wanted to encourage people to get wet and wear swimsuits,” Erdagoz said.

Though students were told to wear “beach attire,” many stripped down to sports bras or boxers to slide down the 33-foot Slip ‘n Slide. More than one person went down fully-clothed.

And with only Dunster and Currier open for the dinner, many hungry students flocked to Tercentenary Theatre for seafood rolls, corn dogs, and a salad of mesclun greens.

As some students ate their meals on the steps of Widener Library, others signed waivers to ride a surfboard simulator.

Canyon Woodward ’15 was ousted from the Harvard Resource Efficiency Program’s “Eco Limbo” after face-planting, shirtless, in the mud, but stood up from the ground with a smile.

For him, the limbo game was his favorite part of Cape Crimson—“a great welcome to Harvard,” he said.

—Staff writer Monika L. S. Robbins can be reached at mrobbins@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.