You’d be hard pressed to find a student on Penn’s campus unfamiliar with Legends of the Hidden Temple, Rugrats or Doug.
The Social Planning and Events Committee plans to bring Penn’s diverse campus together in the name of old-school Nickelodeon favorites with its second annual Fall Fest on Saturday, Sept. 25, headlined by Penn alumnus and rapper Hoodie Allen.
“There will be slime involved in some fashion,” SPEC Vice President and College senior Ferrell Townsend said.
Other Nick-themed goods to look for include the object of Kel’s obsession on Kenan and Kel (hint: it’s orange and carbonated), a Figure It Out-styled game show activity and plenty of “physical challenges” reminiscent of Double Dare 2000, including squirt gun races, an obstacle course, a game of capture the flag, a “dunk derby,” a pie eating contest and more.
In addition to reprising last year’s Battle of the Bands, there will be a new DJ battle between the class boards. The winner will DJ throughout the day, including the hour before Hoodie takes the stage, according to SPEC President and Wharton senior Adam Thompson.
“Hoodie Allen was chosen because he has a strong Penn following, and he meets the mission of the event,” Thompson said. Known to some as Steven Markowitz, Hoodie is a Class of 2010 alumnus, fitting the event’s “focus on the Penn community.”
The 20-and-counting student groups that have already confirmed their involvement — including performance groups, Greeks, philanthropic organizations and everything in between — will be hosting various festival games and distributing souvenirs and food.
The first thousand students will receive a free entrée and dessert from a restaurant that has yet to be finalized, and the class boards will be distributing food along with their respective class T-shirts or other paraphernalia. Popular food trucks Coup de Taco and Call Me Cupcake will park at the event.
SPEC hopes to attract all four classes to the event, “especially seniors,” Townsend said, adding that he believes the senior class in particular can connect well with the ’90s Nickelodeon theme.
“I feel like it was a lot more underclassmen than it was upperclassmen,” College junior Anna-Lara Cook said of last year’s Fall Fest.
Wharton junior Katherine Mosbrucker noted that she attended as a sophomore largely because she knew someone performing in the Battle of the Bands.
“We really want to involve the entire Penn community as much as possible,” Thompson said. “We want this to be a fun event that students want to come to.”
