2008 Woodie Awards
Springfest: 'kickin' it grade school'
Anne Baker
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: News
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Springfest's theme this year - kicking it grade school - will celebrate everything students loved in their elementry years, including pogs, Nickelodeon favorites and even Gushers, said Springfest chairman Brian Vinikoor.
"It's definitely a theme that when you hear it, it illicits a past memory from your childhood, whether it's Carmen Sandiego or Creepy Crawlers," he said. "Everyone thinks of their favorite TV show or their favorite toy … so we've incorporated everything."
Springfest will span eight days, beginning April 6, and CUP will sponsor 12 events, including the previously announced concert featuring Ludacris, the Roots and Toots and the Maytals.
The kickoff event will be a Nickelodeon-themed campus challenge, Vinikoor said, featuring eight teams of eight students. They will participate in games modeled after Family Double Dare, Legends of the Hidden Temple and Wild and Crazy Kids, game shows made popular on the kid-oriented television network, he said.
"We'll have kiddie pools of [Gak] and everything you can remember from those TV shows," Vinikoor said.
Springfest events are still, for the most part, tentatively scheduled, because CUP is waiting for confirmation from a big-name comedian and rock band, Vinikoor said. They will hopefully be announced within the next week, he said.
"We wanted to do something for those kids who might not like Ludacris or Nas," he said. "We're going to have a big rock concert in afterHOURS. … we are going to get a big name and it will sell out fast."
However, students can count on one of the most infamous icons from the '90s making an appearance in Blackman Auditorium on Monday night the week of Springfest: Vanilla Ice. Although the rapper will not be performing his classic "Ice, Ice Baby," he will speak and spend some time after to meet with students, Vinikoor said.
Other events will include a video game and bedazzler night, a "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" scavenger hunt and a barbeque co-sponsored by the Resident Student Association, Vinikoor said.
For the second year, the barbeque will feature Project SF, a group of "spray-paint" artists who will make a piece specifically for Springfest while students munch on barbeque hamburgers and other foods, he said.
The giveaways throughout the week will also be grade-school themed. Students will have the chance to revive such 90s trends as slap-bracelets, silly putty and temporary tattoos. There will be plenty of opportunities to satisfy sweet-tooth students with lunch-box favorites like Gushers, Dunkaroos and Fruit by the Foot.
The Springfest T-shirts feature designs inspired by Legends of the Hidden Temple, Vinikoor said. There will be six designs on different colors, and will include team names, like the Purple Parrots and Silver Snakes, borrowed from the show.
And while the overriding theme of Springfest is childish, the aim of the event isn't, Vinikoor said.
"The idea behind the theme is just to have as much fun as possible in one week," he said. "You always have a conversation and you always … end up talking about a Nickelodeon show, and it's just a common bond that we all have. And we thought everyone would get a kick out of it."
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