“Eating local” is a practice that’s growing faster than corn in July. In a 2009 survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, professional chefs ranked locally grown produce as the hottest food trend of the year.

When it comes to local, you can’t get any closer than your own backyard—or in Wheaton’s case, the Dimple.

Last fall, a group of Wheaton students teamed up with Jennis Heal, executive chef in Dining Services, to organize a weekly farmers’ market in the Dimple. Students, faculty and staff flocked to the Friday afternoon markets to purchase produce, breads, cheeses, soaps and other goods offered by local farmers.

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The 2010-2011 Whims sing in the Slype.

Television shows such as “Glee” and “The Sing-Off” have sparked a renewed love for a cappella nationwide, but at Wheaton, a cappella groups have embraced the genre for decades and continue to find ways to give it their own notable signature.

Whims 1950-1951

Founded in 1947 “on a whim,” the Wheaton Whims are still making music more than 60 years later. The repertoire has evolved from the days when “Tea for Two” and “Moonlight in Vermont” were among their standards, but the musical tradition is unbroken.

On their latest CD, Where We Once Stood, today’s Whims serve up songs by Jason Mraz,  Enya, Lady Gaga and other contemporary artists. But now, as then, the arrangements are their own, and the only instruments are their voices.

“The genre of college a cappella has developed over the last 50 years from the shoo-bop/barbershop style of close harmonies to an emphasis on vocal percussion and vocal imitation of instruments,” says Shannon Coco ’11, the Whims’ pitch pipe (musical director). “Using the voice in a more instrumental way, repertoire possibilities continue to grow…. Our musical stylings include pop, musical theatre, classic rock, alternative, barbershop and more.”

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