This Friday WSU clubs and campus organizations will kick off the new semester with the 10th annual Wildcat Block Party.
Held in Bell Tower Plaza between the library, Elizabeth Hall and the Shepherd Union Aug. 29, the free block party will begin at 8:15 a.m. with a purple pancake breakfast served by WSU administrators.
“You come out, you get your purple pancakes, and then in between class you capture all of the booths,” said Bev Rudd, WSU events coordinator. “It’s truly a campus-wide event. Everybody gets involved at block party.”
The block party will run all day, ending around 2:30 p.m.
More than 140 different clubs and organizations will set up booths for the block party, according to the official press release. They will play off this year’s theme, “Celebrate Weber State,” and compete for awards with their booth design.
Rudd has been on the block party committee since 2007. She said WSU starts planning the block party at least six months in advance every year.
According to Rudd, this year planners were a little short on space due to construction.
Tara Peris, WSU assistant director of student involvement, said the theme “Celebrate Weber State” specifically references WSU’s 125th anniversary celebrated this year.
“This is the last half of our birthday year,” Peris said. “We chose the word ‘celebrate’ because we wanted that to be very fluid.”
In other words, it’s up to the clubs and organizations to show why we should celebrate Weber State when they design their booths.
Peris saw many creative ideas during her work on the block party.
“It’s really cool because some of them are making giant birthday cakes,” Peris said as she mentioned other creative ideas registrants came up with, including birthday party style games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
“We just really wanted block party to really be that celebration of Weber State,” Peris said.
This is the 10th annual block party held at Weber State. According to Jackie Edwards, a secretary in the office of Student Involvement and Leadership, the block party keeps getting bigger each year.
Edwards, who handles much of the logistics and paperwork for the block party, has been involved with the event since the beginning a decade ago.
The first block party in 2004 drew a crowd of about 3,000 students, according to Edwards.
“Now it’s got to be like 8,000 (students),” Edwards said. “It’s just jam-packed.”
The combination of games, trinkets, food and school spirit makes the party popular among students and faculty, according to Edwards.
Rudd sees the block party as very important for new students at Weber State.
“It gives them an insight as to everything Weber State has to offer,” Rudd said. “(The party) has all the clubs and organizations that they can become involved with. It has all the departments on campus and introduces students to the various colleges.”
Peris agrees.
“Of all the days in the school year, this is the one day that Weber State’s doors are literally wide open,” she said in the official press release. “It is the one day that every office, every department, every club, every resource throws the doors wide open and everyone is excited to share various parts of campus.”
The block party is free to all. Parking is available to the public on Harrison Boulevard and at the pay lot near the Ada Lindquist Plaza.
