Free giveaways, life-size Angry Birds complete event schedule
The University’s first-ever Spring Festival is scheduled for Friday, April 13, and boasts a plethora of activities and events in the quad and on Griesedieck parking lot.
The Student Activities Board has made many alterations to what was formerly the Spring Fever concert, most notably by adopting a different name and focusing the event into a single day rather than a weeklong event. The new name -– bearing resemblance to St. Louis’ summer event, LouFest -– is the result of an open call on SLUConnection for students to send in suggestions for the festival’s name.
The decision to have Spring Fest all in one day is intended to allow more of the student body get involved and enjoy all that the festival has to offer.
“With Spring Fever, not everyone could always make it to every event we sponsored throughout the week,” said SAB Vice President of Public Relations Eddie Stephens. “Now that everything is going on all at once on a Friday afternoon, students will be able to take full advantage of what SAB has put together for them.”
Spring Fest will run from 3 to 10 p.m. and be featured entirely outdoors. Chartered Student Organizations will have booths set up throughout the quad with games, food and other activities.
“It will really be a good representation of the entire SLU community and everything we as a student body have to offer,” Stephens said.
Amongst the games and activities available for student enjoyment will be a life-sized Angry Birds setup, complete with a giant slingshot and a blown-up Angry Birds rooster.
“I think people will really enjoy chilling out in the quad,” SAB President Christie Thieben said.
In addition to the activities in the quad, Billiken Dining Services will be hosting a meal swipe night in the quad from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
“Students will receive [a specific] amount of tokens for a swipe, and you use that on food,” Thieben said.
The food is reported to be ballpark-themed, and other CSOs will have food available for purchase. KSLU will be playing music in the quad for most of the day, and there will also be some “fun giveaways,” according to Thieben.
There will also be music in the Griesedieck parking lot. Entrance is free for students with an ID and $5 for anyone else hoping to attend.
Headlining will be Karmin, a rising two-piece pop band recently featured on Saturday Night Live. Karmin often covers songs, but also has original songs they will likely play. Super Mash Bros., the popular duo known for their “mash-ups,” taking pieces of various songs and combining them into one coherent piece, will also be headlining. Gregory and the Gargoyles, a St. Louis cover band, will also be playing earlier in the afternoon.
This set-up is a departure from last year’s performance by Motion City Soundtrack and Cartel, held in Chaifetz Arena. Performances were moved outside with the intention of providing a different atmosphere for the festival, making it feel less like “just another concert.”
The music promises to be very dance-oriented and enjoyable to a large amount of students, which reportedly was SAB’s intention. The lineup is focused on bands that will play songs that students probably already know, but in a different and perhaps more party-inclined way.
“It’s very fun. People can’t say that it’s not their type of music,” Thieben said of Super Mash Bros.
The musical acts were chosen by a board comprising CSOs with various focuses and interests, with the intention of properly representing the interests of as many SLU students as possible. Thieben described the board as “a really diverse group of people.”
The board talked about possible acts and then came to a consensus and put the lineup together. In between musical acts, student performances will be held on a second stage. Scheduled to appear are Bare Naked Statues, Beyond All Reason and Xquizit. Thieben is excited to have SLU students perform alongside the major bands.
“I’m sure I’ll have a really great time,” said Mike McFadden, a junior in the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation & Technology.
More information about Spring Fest can be found on the SAB website, sab.slu.edu, and the SAB Twitter account, @SLUSAB. A Facebook event page has also been created and is available online.
