In the spirit of German and Bavarian holidays, the Living Learning Communities will host Oktoberfest at 6 p.m., Oct. 26 in the College of Natural Resources and Upham residence halls. Historically, Oktoberfest features German beer and food. Instead, the LLCs Oktoberfest will feature pumpkin carving, small events, tie-dye shirts, a soup competition, dancing, “scaryoke,” costume contests and prizes. Sodexo will cater food and drinks for the event.
“It’s going to be an alcohol-free event because it’s put on by housing, so it’s going to be a positive experience for everyone,” Resident Assistant Connor Kennelly said.
Afterwards, for students who cannot afford a costume or do not wish to buy one for the costume competition, there will be white shirts to tie-dye with blood-colored dye.
A soup competition will occur in the evening. Students have two hours to cook their dish on location before judging begins. Potential ingredients provided for the soup competition include potatoes, beats, carrots and peas.
Students must conceive their own recipe, and give it to a residence assistant for revision. There must be a list of ingredients provided, or attendees cannot take place in the competition. According to Ryan Spaniel, programming chair of the LLCs, soup competition submissions must be turned into the LLCs by the end of next week.
“Scaryoke,” or karaoke with horror-themed songs, will take place later in the evening.
Among them will be a mummy-wrap competition with toilet paper. Various food-related programs will be part of the event. These programs vary from digging through chocolate pies for gummy worms to digging bread out of cooked spaghetti. There will also be a Fear Factor competition that will test attendees’ stomachs.
“I guess it’s a really good way to get people to throw up,” Spaniel said.
The LLCs have been coordinating this event since the beginning of the semester. Kennelly described the funding in a political analogy.
The LLC Community Council serves as the state level, funding their event with $1,025 out of their budget. Residence Hall Association Senate, the national level, allocated $500. ASUI followed suit with $750, making the grand total $2,275.
The event was separated into different buildings in fear of pushing maximum occupancy. Spaniel predicted more than 300 students will attend. The LLCs alone hold 260 people, and most are expected to attend. Fraternities, sororities, remaining residence halls and off-campus students are also invited.
According to Spaniel, not enough UI students outside of the LLCs spend time there.
“This is, like, on a grand scale,” Spaniel said. “We’re trying to get people really just to meet others in the area — like if someone’s interested in a frat they can talk to someone who’s in a frat. I think that it’s probably going to be one of the biggest and best events that the LLC community has put on.”
This event will be larger than most of the prior year’s events, due to an increased budget and work force.
Jake Smithcan be reached at [email protected]