Party in the Park Thursday

Now in its 17th year, Portland State’s Party in the Park will be held this Thursday in the South Park Blocks, offering PSU students activities, food and the chance to get involved on campus.

Traditionally held at the beginning of fall term, Party in the Park is an event that brings together the various student groups and offers a common point of interaction for students. The event is being organized by Student Activities and Leadership Programs (SALP) and Campus Recreation.

According to Natalee Webb, one of the event’s organizers and an adviser for SALP, around 5,000 students are expected to attend this year’s event. This year’s party marks the first Webb has organized.

“This year’s Party in the Park is going to be the biggest in history,” Webb said. “We are spending nearly $30,000 on this year’s party and have been planning it since spring.”

Webb also said food costs for the party will be around $13,000, which will be provided by Abu Rasheed and Subway. Although Aramark, PSU’s food service provider, was not contracted for the party, they are donating soda, she said.

Campus Recreation will offer activities such as rock wall climbing, table tennis and sailing for students to try at the event, according to Alex Accetta, coordinator of Campus Recreation. The event will also feature medieval combat with soft sticks, Accetta said.

DLUX The Light and The Builders and the Butchers, two bands representing the Popular Music Board, will be performing at the event, Accetta said. Groups presenting dance, drama and Tae Kwon Do demonstrations will also be present at the event. A DJ from KPSU will also be there to provide music, he said.

SALP hopes to attract new students to groups, and Webb said many groups will be present at the event.

“There are nearly 200 student groups-even with the increased capacity, we had to turn away some,” Webb said. She also said next year’s party would have to be even bigger to accommodate interested student groups.

“We will try our best,” she said.

Campus Recreation aims to promote enrollment and student involvement in recreational clubs offered to students, Accetta said.

“This is definitely about promoting clubs, especially introducing new ones like hockey club to the students,” he said.

Portland State administrators will be handing out free food and raffle giveaways during the party. In order to receive food or participate in the raffle, students must get a passport stamped by at least seven student groups, said Kylie Thompson, who is helping to organize the event and is an office specialist with SALP.

“This is just to encourage student interaction with the groups,” Thompson said.

The event is mostly funded by student fees, with some funds contributed by Campus Recreation. This year, 104 groups and 27 departments are participating, occupying 150 tables and tents at an expense of $14,000.

Tables were also rented out to local businesses for $750 in order to offset the student fee costs. Unitus Credit Union, Monster Energy Drinks, the Portland Trail Blazers and Flexcar, a national car-sharing company, bought tables for the event.

-Party in the Park will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27.