The seventh year of the Weber State University Block Party brought students to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the WSU Shepherd Union Building. This coinciding of anniversaries is what led to the theme of the Block Party: “Blast Back to the ’60s.” Booths up and down the campus were awash in tie-dyed colors, Beatles posters and peace signs. The Block Party also gave students and professors the opportunity to set up booths on behalf of their department, club or organization.
“It gives us the opportunity to meet incoming students and returning students,” said WSU senior and Hispanic Area Council officer Javier Chavez. “And it also gives us a chance to display what we’re going to do and what we’ve done in the past, and it’s really the one time of the year where we can put something creative together where students can actually see what the organization is about and how we’re trying to impact things on campus.”
Each booth was encouraged to set up the most unique or interesting display possible that correlated with the Block Party theme. Chavez and other organizers of his booth decided to do something that allowed students to participate in how the booth was decorated, but also gave their council something to look back on in the future.
“We have a tie-dyed tablecloth, and visitors could come and put their signature on the cloth,” he said. “And we could use this cloth later on to symbolize that this is how many students we’ve reached out to throughout the year.”
There were also some new and unique additions to the Block Party for its seventh year.
“I think a highlight of this year was definitely the flash mob,” said Nikki Nicholas, the Block Party chair.
In keeping with the latest trends, despite the retro theme, the organizers of the event helped to put together a flash mob in which students could volunteer to participate. The flash mob occurred near the middle of the day between the Union Building and Elizabeth Hall, and featured several dozen students dancing in coordination. Other unique aspects of the event were booths featuring different types of games and activities that visitors could participate in.
“The Angry Birds one, that was probably my favorite,” said LEAP Program professor Austin Green.
Green also talked about why he thought having the Block Party was important and how it benefited the campus.
“I think it builds community,” he said. “It helps all the students to learn about what Weber State actually offers. I love that every year they do this and it’s something I enjoy coming to.”
The Block Party took place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, and featured booths of WSU departments and organizations as well as local businesses. It featured games, free food and drinks, contests and music. Nicholas, who has put together the Block Party for the past seven years, talked about how it keeps getting bigger every year.
“We really wanted to create something that was a real tradition,” she said. “And I think we’ve accomplished that.”
