Spring Fever, the annual Student Activities Board carnival at Saint Louis University, comes to campus this Friday, April 26.
The strip of Laclede Avenue near Grand Forest and Marchetti Towers apartments will be transformed into a carnival ground, a stage and a beer garden.
This year’s carnival rides will be the Columbus, the Slide, the Loop-o-Plane, a Funhouse, the Hustler and the Swinger. There will also be a rock-climbing wall and sumo-wrestling display.
“Everything has been working out well,” said Jaimie Timmerman, SAB Spring Fever co-chair.
The event will also feature booths sponsored by student organizations. Sigma Kappa will feature a dunk tank for the second year in a row. Betsy McCaraig, activities chair for the sorority, organized the dunk tank. “We tried to get lots of well-known student leaders like Mike Cappel, Mike Rozier and Nick Sarcone,” McCaraig said, “as well as representatives from all of the Greek organizations.”
The stage aims to be a successful part of the event. The Gin Blossoms, a rock band popular in the early ’90s, will be the main act for Spring Fever. The Gin Blossoms topped the charts with the pop hits “Hey Jealousy” and “‘Til I Hear it From You.”
Opening for the Gin Blossoms will be two local St. Louis bands-Nadine, an American pop rock band, and Earl, who was recently voted one of The Riverfront Times’ 10 Best Local Bands.
DJ Nitro and DJ Ronnie Louvre will also rock the stage. KSLU radio station is responsible for bringing Nadine, DJ Nitro and DJ Ronnie Louvre to campus. KSLU is cosponsoring the two stages by helping paying for production.
But those aren’t the only bands that will grace the ears of SLU Spring Fever-goers. Stoked Mobius, an acoustic band composed of SLU students, will make an encore performance to their Battle of the Bands performance. Coming in first place at the Battle, Stoked Mobius won the chance to open for the Gin Blossoms. Bare Naked Statues, an a cappella group composed of several SLU male students, will also perform.
For those students who hunger and thirst, Soulard Ale House will host the beer garden and be the main food vendor.
All work aside, SAB members and SLU students alike are hoping for a successful event. “It’ll be a good time for all,” Timmerman said.
