Spring Weekend and Bandfest make for one amazing celebration

A version of this article first appeared in The Rotunda

Sunny days, live music, Oozeball and tons of booths can only mean one thing at Longwood; the annual traditions of Bandfest and Spring Weekend took over the campus once again. The two-celebrations are easily one of the campus’ biggest events and this year’s was no exception.

This year however, the set up was a bit different. Due to the construction at the Student Union circle, the picnic area was placed behind the Student Union, while the stages were moved to Stubbs lawn. Some of the booth remained on the Stubbs lawn, while the rest were moved to the left of the Student Union.

Starting off the two days of fun was Bandfest, hosted on Friday by WMLU, Longwood’s student-run radio station. Both bands performed some of their newer songs, as well as their older songs.

Saturday was Spring Weekend, which had an “All-American Weekend” theme, which could be seen in many of the decorations and items that were sold from the various organization’s booths.

American flag bandanas and sunglasses, fish sandwiches, fried candy, bottle openers and even clay owls were just a small sample of the variety of items that were sold throughout the day. Other clubs also had a gimmick in order to attract attention to their booth. The Philosophy and Debate Club asked people to sign in one of three columns on a paper signifying which they valued the most: life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. The Politics Club sold red, white and blue buttons which people could write slogans on.

The student organizations were not the only attraction, though. To the left of Stubbs Hall, students played in the Oozeball tournament, hosted by the Longwood Ambassadors, which was essentially volleyball in the mud. In addition, several different student performances were showcased through the day.

Last but not least, was the music. Throughout the day, music was played for an energetic crowd. The bands were the pop punk group Broadside, Richmond’s local rock band “The Shack Band,” rapper Mod Sun, the electronic duo 3OH!3 and country singer Chase Bryant.

On his overall impressions of the events, freshman Rayjon Ratliff said, “It was great, I loved the festive atmosphere of Spring Weekend!”

Ratliff was the captain of his Oozeball team, the Ratliff Ruffians. Ratliff blames himself for his teams’ loss in the tournament, and said, “I was so sad I was not a good enough captain.”

Sophomore Maggie Galleher was a little more critical, admitting that she “didn’t like the new set up, but it went smoothly.” She feels that the overall event was great fun, especially the bands at WMLU’s Bandfest.

“I’ve never been so excited in my life, but Saturday bands could have been a lot better,” said Galleher.