‘Be a Kid Night’ Packs in Fun

By CAROLINE FORD

After taking the last two weeks to readjust to 8 a.m. classes, homework and a never-ending stack of syllabi, Friday’s “Be a Kid Night” brought some much-needed stress relief. Hosted by the University Programming Committee (UPC), the night was full of popular childhood activities, such as funnel cake, glitter tattoos and spin art.

The night started at eight p.m. with live entertainment on the Lee Hall patio. Student-formed band “Save the Arcadian,” whose name is derived from an episode of the popular TV show, “How I Met Your Mother,” led the night with songs they wrote themselves including “Pink” and “Ride.” They had the crowd dancing from the first song and managed to keep the crowd dancing and singing even when the speakers temporarily lost power.

Band members Will McCarry, a junior English major, and Sam Rodgers, a senior visual arts and communications major, have been friends since high school. They were playing outside of Trinkle Hall the “fateful” afternoon when they attracted the attention of fellow band member, Russell Michaelson. Soon after, Jacob Dellinger, a recently graduated English major with a focus on Creative Writing, joined the band. Their newest member is their drummer, Bryan Scott James Chase, a sophomore studying Environmental Geology.

By nine p.m., musician John Taglieri had taken the stage. “The Human Jukebox” has a “photographic memory for music” and has a mental repertoire of thousands of songs. This was his seventh time performing at The University of Mary Washington.

When asked why he always comes back, Taglieri said “It’s always a fun crowd and a wonderful place to play at.” Taglieri has been playing music since he was five, and is now accomplished in eight instruments.

Meanwhile, the Underground had been transformed into the location for “Thinkfast!”, a fast-paced game-show-style setting where contestants break into teams and try to answer questions as fast as they can to earn the most points.

After two competitive rounds of play, the top four contestants were brought on stage for the final questions and a chance to win a $200 cash prize.

After correctly identifying the “Jaws” theme song, sophomore Sam Relkin walked away a winner. When asked how Relkin knew so much trivia, he simply replied he “watches a lot of Jeopardy.”
Relkin plans to split the money with his friend and take the rest to McDonald’s.

Steady crowds flowed in and out of Lee Hall all evening, enjoying the chance to relax and grab some grilled food, ice cream floats and funnel cake. Inside Lee, students lined up for glitter tattoos, balloon animals and sand art. Outside the Underground, the lines were even longer for spin-art t-shirts and frisbees.

Overall, the night was a complete success, and it was estimated that over 1,000 students came to the event.