Pairet's Inc., the famous T-shirt shop in Downtown Farmville, and The Scarf at Longwood University have teamed up to celebrate February in style. Starting today, Wednesday, Feb. 1, if you wear your 2010 or 2011 Longwood Scarf to Pairet's, you can receive two dollars off your purchase all month long.
"A lot of people believe that The Scarf is the spirit and passion of Longwood," Scarf said in an interview with The Rotunda on Monday. To promote this passion and spirit, the decision was made to have an entire month devoted to Longwood's staple apparel, the Ruffneck scarf.
Since its conception during the Greatest Athletic March Ever (GAME) in August 2010, the Longwood Scarf has become more than just a piece of woven fabric. "I'm not just a memento of an event. I'm an everyday part of the Lancer's life," said Scarf.
Scarf has gained quite a following as well, likely because of its use of social media. The Scarf operates its own Facbook fan page [The Scarf (Longwood)], Twitter (SCARFLongwood) and email account (thescarflongwood@hotmail.com). Today, Scarf will make its Skype debut. "It's become amazing," Scarf said.
The love of Longwood's scarf does not just touch the hearts of current Longwood folks. "In the last six months, alumni have emailed me all the time." With that love comes the demand for more scarves. In 2010, there were a number of scarves leftover from the GAME. In August 2011 though, all the scarves were passed out to people at the GAME within about seven minutes.
"During the last few months, we were getting a lot of requests of people knocking and wanting scarves," said Scarf. Unfortunately, extra funds were not available to pay for every person who wanted a scarf to get one. However, about 400 more scarves were ordered last year and nearly 300 of those have already been purchased for a $10 fee. If you are still interested, simply email Scarf with your request.
For those who head down to Pairet's today, prizes are being handed out for the first Interfraternity Council member to buy a shirt, the first Lancer to buy an "It's a RUFF NECK" shirt, the first person to Skype with The Scarf at Pairet's, the first person to get their picture taken with Tommy Pairet and much more.
The idea of Scarf Month came about at the end of December with the Scarf Party at Pino's Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Farmville. The event was held to promote The Scarf and it allowed those who came to get $2 off any medium or large pizza at the eatery.
"The spirit and passion became even more valuable at Pino's," Scarf said. "I was already supported by so many groups. To now have a community organization come aboard was something special."
This month, Scarf is asking Longwood students to do one of two things. Wear The Scarf, head down to Pairet's and buy something to take advantage of the discount or at the least visit Pariet's and shake the hands of the owner for helping to promote The Scarf.
Pairet's owner Tommy Pairet said in a phone interview he talked to Scarf and is very excited about today. "[The Scarf] said it'll be down here [tweeting] and will pack the house. I said more power to you." Pairet said he hopes Scarf Month will promote The Scarf's awareness around campus and the community.
In addition to this month's event at Pairet's, Scarf is hoping to team up with other businesses, including ARAMARK, to offer discounts to scarf-wearers.
"I want to continue the spirit and passion long after the start of school. We don't want that to go away after the beginning of the year," said Scarf.
"Believe it or not," Scarf said, "a lot of people have a gripe with me. When you see me out in 90-degree weather, people often give me strange looks. But it's not about the weather. It's about the spirit and passion." That passion is very apparent, so apparent, that one Longwood ambassador told Scarf last week that she wears her scarf during every tour she gives to prospective students and their families.
While there is no remedy yet, Scarf said there will be a top-secret announcement made in February that will make things a bit cooler—really cool in fact—for those who cannot stand to wear a scarf in mid-Summer's heat.
A less top-secret bit of information has to do with the one-year anniversary of The Scarf's Facebook page, which will be March 26. The hope is for that day to be a sort of holiday at Longwood—Scarf Day, if you will.
Scarf said it wants people to remember that the idea behind its creation is not to promote athletics. While it initially started as a tie to the GAME, the purpose is to promote spirit in all aspects of Longwood life.
One of those aspects deals with members of the Longwood community taking Scarf to locations around the world. "It's been neat to see where all I've traveled to," said Scarf, referring to many pictures on its Facebook page. Scarf said it initially thought people would just post pictures from around campus. To date, 18 countries have been visited by Scarf. The latest is an Army base in Afghanistan.
"I think there's a lot of people who love me and support me," Scarf said while smiling. "I'm a tool to show off Lancer pride."
