After a bout of winter, spring, summer and fall-like conditions-all within several days-one thing is certain: Spring Fever is finally here.

Spring Fever will arrive at Saint Louis University this Friday afternoon. The rides will open at 2 p.m. with the official start time for the event at 4 p.m. Spring Fever is responsible for the transformation of Laclede Avenue into a festival of booths, rides, games and concerts.

Student organizations are sponsoring booths with games and food. Also, the Laclede Street Bar & Grill Beer Garden will serve beer, margaritas and soda.

The carnival rides include the Heart Flip, Loop-o-Plane, Merry Mixer, Hustler and the Gyroscope. The wide selection of rides came because of their popularity among students. The Student Activities Board wanted to get more types of rides that students liked from previous years, said Cab Gutting, SAB co-chair of Spring Fever.

“Basically, we just wanted everything to be bigger and better than last year,” she continued.

And don’t forget the music. The Urge, Nadine and Javier Mendoza will grace the stage Friday night.

“We’ve got great acts that the students wanted to see for years,” said Chris Grabau, SAB advisor.

Concerned with the popularity of the bands, SLU has brought in additional concert security to work with DPS. All of the bands are originally from the St. Louis area and are coming to SLU for a private engagement.

Gutting expressed enthusiasm about the musical portion of the evening: “All of the bands are big names. It’s awesome!”

The event would not be complete without a fireworks finale. According to Gutting, the fireworks were such a big success last year that they are back for a repeat performance. Gutting said plans have gone smoothly and she praised the Department of Facilities Management and the Department of Public Safety.

“A lot of people put a lot of work into this,” Gutting said.

Representatives from postnet.com and FM 101.1 The River radio station will be attending the event. “This year we know more of what people want,” Grabau said.

Amidst all of the excitement and fun, SAB has kept the event in perspective. “We’re excited to do this for the students; it’s for them,” Gutting said.

SLU students are encouraged to bring their SLU ID and drivers licenses to the event.