Visitors to Munn Ice Arena normally are greeted by the sights and sounds of MSU hockey on a typical Saturday night. But this past weekend, patrons were invited to step back in time during a 1950s-themed ice skating festival held in the venue.
For general management sophomore Katelyn Matych, the Frozen Fifties Festival — sponsored by the University Activities Board, or UAB — was a change of pace on a Saturday night with her friends.
“It’s something different, and we’re always looking for something to do,” she said. “It’s free, it’s fun.”
The festival featured a costume contest, ‘50s-themed game stations throughout the arena, a prize booth and a special craft station that allowed attendees to decorate vinyl records from the era, said English freshman Halli Beauprey, a member of the UAB’s Arts Committee who helped plan the event.
Attendees also could skate for free from 9 p.m. to midnight, she said.
Beauprey noted the group originally had planned to organize a Valentine’s Day-themed skate.
“Since Valentine’s Day was on a Monday, we just decided to go with this event afterwards,” Beauprey said. “We kind of had a hard time — we spent a lot of time trying to decide what games and what vendors to get.”
Despite those difficulties, the night included free items from four local vendors — including Buffalo Wild Wings, 360 Albert Ave., and Insomnia Cookies, 603 E. Grand River Ave., Beauprey said.
Beauprey felt the event would be a draw despite the MSU men’s basketball game against Illinois.
“Those who don’t have tickets or are disappointed with our season so far might want to come out,” she said.
Preliminary estimates from the UAB put the expected turnout at about 1,300 people.
For all of its expected success, the event itself was challenging to plan in terms of the actual date, but several strategies proved useful in drawing people to Munn, said Amy Pochodylo, a chemistry senior and the director of marketing with the UAB.
“This (Saturday) night was actually the only night (Munn) was open, and we’re actually competing with (ESPN’s) College GameDay, which was a challenge,” she said. “We promoted it a lot, we got T-shirts, we did a ton of posters (and) our table tents are always a big thing and so we think we got the word out about it.”
Although the festival was a departure from the types of activities the UAB traditionally sponsors, Pochodylo welcomed the positive exposure for the group.
“I think it’s a bit different from what we normally do and ice skating is something people really like,” she said. “For our name to be attached to a night of free skating and a ton of free prizes is always a good thing for us.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
