This year’s Houghton Palooza will be on Saturday, April 29 running from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Townhouses. In the case of bad weather, it will take place in the Campus Center’s Van Dyke Lounge.
According to Theresa Taggart ’18, primary planner for this year’s Houghton Palooza, the event has been happening annually for over 10 years. JL Miller, Resident Director (RD) for the Townhouses, added, “It was originally student-started with the idea of an end of the year music festival making use of the talent we have on campus and enjoying the good weather. And since then it’s pretty much kept on that same base but we’ve added a few elements along the way that attract a wider community member audience.”
Community members and families are welcome to join students in enjoying the activities.
“This year, like past years, will have live music, hot dogs, and many different ‘carnival’ booths,” Taggart explained. “For example, we will have face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, a 40 foot obstacle course, a home run derby bounce house, and more.” New to this year’s festival is two inflatables, instead of the usual one.
Miller acknowledged another addition to the traditional activities. He said, “We invite clubs on campus to see if they want to host something, be a part of a little booth to provide an activity and for the first time we got FILA involved so they’re going to have a nerf gun tin can shooting gallery.”
The intention with the new activities over the years, according to Miller, is to be “expanding beyond just the music but still making the music central.” As for this year, Miller said, “I’m really impressed by the bands we have lined up. Sometimes we rotate through low times when there’s not as many bands available, but this time it’s a really full set of bands and musicians that I think students will really enjoy and know.”
Miller explained while the event is staff supervised, the intention is for it to be a student run even. “Being the Townhouse Representative of CAB,” Taggart commented. “I’m the point person for planning the event. But this event really takes a big team to execute. The townhouse RAs and JL Miller help with planning and getting bands and club participation…We all put together our best ideas and we delegate tasks to get it done as quickly as possible.”
“I’m really just excited to see everyone have a good time,” Taggart said of the coming event. “The best part about event planning is seeing people enjoy the work you’ve put into it. Houghton Palooza is one of my favorite campus events, and I love seeing others go and have fun.”
Jill Templeton ’17, who has attended two Paloozas in the past, enjoys the event for its opportunity to social and destress. “I like it because all my friends are there and not just the ones I go with. It’s just an afternoon of fun. You don’t have to worry so much about schoolwork, although finals are just around the corner.”