Food central to tailgate festival

Blue skies and festive balloon arrangements greeted students as they gathered on College Green to take a trip around the world at Penn's first International Tailgate Festival.

Co-sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Office of Student Life, Saturday's festival featured free food from local restaurants and live performances in front of the Van Pelt Library.

The festival was part of SPEC's No Place Like Penn weekend, three days of events that included a hypnotist and a laser light show.

"We wanted to bring the Penn community together and show that Penn does have school spirit," co-Director of SPEC Special Events Lina Shustarovich said.

The focus of the festival was the food, supplied by local restaurants. Students had the chance to sample cuisine from the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and, more locally, Philadelphia.

"I heard the Philly stuff was the best," College sophomore Rebecca Sternschein said, although she also noted that the Philadelphia stand ran out of ketchup. The lack of ketchup did not seem to bother students waiting in line, however, since there was plenty of mustard.

In addition to food, students could pick up free water ice and Philadelphia's own Tastykake baked goods, as well as decorate pieces of toast in honor of the football game later that afternoon.

As they ate, students watched performances by the Penn Band, student comedy group Mask and Wig and student band Degenerating Judgment. In between the live entertainment, students grooved to the musical stylings of DJ Tiga and DJ Flex from Baseline Productions.

"It was really cool watching the marching band walk up Locust Walk," College freshman Philip Bea said.

The festival attracted a wide variety of visitors, including Penn students, prospective students and their families taking a break from tours and a group of jugglers who set up near the tables.

"Everyone has really come out with Penn spirit," co-Director of SPEC Special Events Andrea Broadt said.

Broadt and Shustarovich estimate that at least a thousand students attended the festival, based on the number of passports -- blue tickets which students redeemed for food at the stations -- handed out by festival volunteers.

Shustarovich also noted that every station ran out of all of their food, which she believed was another indicator of the event's success.

"We're very happy with the way it turned out," SPEC Vice President Katelyn Rood said.

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