Sigma Kappa sorority "rocked the dock" Friday night with a battle of the bands competition at Cavanaugh's River Deck.
All proceeds from the event -- which drew over 800 people and raised $7,000 -- benefited the sorority's main philanthropic cause, Alzheimer's research.
"It went as expected, it was really nice to see everyone come together for a great cause," College sophomore and Sigma Kappa sister Laura Bressler said.
Wharton senior and Sigma Kappa sister Naoko Kudo also said she was pleased with the outcome of the evening.
She noted that this was the first year the sorority held a philanthropy event. In past years, the house has sold lollipops to benefit the Sigma Kappa Foundation.
The four bands, which were selected to perform at the battle of bands through auditions, competed in 20-minute sets to win a cash prize of $250. The bands was Penn-affiliated, with at least one member from each who was a Penn student.
Attendees selected the winning band by placing their ticket stub into a box labeled with the band of their choice.
Sometime before the votes were tallied, The Delancey Project's box was thrown into the river, thereby narrowing the competition down to three bands.
Engineering senior Iqram Magdon-Ismail, a solo performer whose music has been likened to Dave Matthews', won the battle of the bands and the $250 check.
College senior Spencer Friedman attended after hearing about the event through his friends in the sorority.
"It was a good time," Friedman said.
He added that donating to charity eased the pain of the ticket price.
"I was not just paying $10 to go to a club," Friedman said.
The event took place two days before the end of the official moratorium on Greek events, in observance of College junior Matt Paris' two-story fall. The Pi Kappa Alpha brother was injured Sept. 14 at a registered party at Psi Upsilon.
In a statement, Sigma Kappa President Archana Lakshman explained the house's decision to hold the event, which has been planned for months.
"Over the past week, we have worked diligently with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, as well as the umbrella organization [InterFraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and Bicultural InterGreek Council] presidents and the president of Pi Kappa Alpha to ensure that this event runs smoothly," she said.
"Due to the tremendous amount of planning and money involved with a philanthropic event of this scale, we were granted special permission to hold Rock the Dock two days before the moratorium ends," she added.
