2011 Helen C. House Party

On Thursday, September 15, College Library held the third annual Helen C. House Party. As students approached the building, they were welcomed in the courtyard with carnivalesque favorites including free cotton candy, tunes from the student radio station WSUM, games (corn-toss and pick-a-duck), and balloon art by Lochlan Masters. Favorite balloon hats this year included the perched panda, the viking warrior, the lunging shark, and the ever-popular alien. In addition to his latex creations, Lochlan also performed magic tricks to a captivated audience.

Once inside College Library, students were greeted with a variety of entertainment options. The carnival theme continued on the first floor with face-painting and a Nerf shooting gallery. The library also showcased video games from its collection, including the Rock Band 3 on the large monitor on the first floor and Just Dance 2 projected on a screen in Open Book. A number of students danced along with those playing the game, providing Room 1250 with a decidedly festive air.

In addition to the impromptu dance party, Open Book also featured arts-and-crafts and a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament. At the craft table students were able to weave friendship bracelets, practice origami, or decorate their very own tote bag. In the poker section, returning champion Cory Groom successfully defended his title, once again earning a designated study table at the library for the entire fall semester. Other activities on the first floor included zombie-hunting in Room 1193D where a LAN party featured the games Team Fortress 2 and Left4Dead2. In Room 1191, teams played ninja tag in the stacks of the Main Collection and short films, curated by UW Cinematheque, were projected in Ethnic Studies, Room 1193.

Free food was offered on the second floor and student groups provided entertainment on the Main Stage to party attendees waiting patiently in line for their chance at pizza, Chinese food, and naked burritos. Featured performers included the a cappella singing group Tangled Up in Blue, a Capoeira demo, a Tae Kwon Do demo, dancers from the Badger Ballroom Dance Team, improv with The Understudies, and Bellydancing UW. Also featured on the second floor was a mini-golf course with each hole sponsored by a campus library or program. Participants included Go Big Read, the UW Archives, MERIT, the SLIS Library, Wendt Commons, the Chemistry Library, the CCBC, Mills Music Library, and Steenbock Library. Bucky Badger also stopped by to join in the festivities.

The Helen C. House Party was sponsored by the Center for the First Year Experience at UW-Madison and listed as an official Wisconsin Welcome event. It also received generous support through food donations from Gumby’s Pizza, Pepsi, Qdoba, Ian’s Pizza, Hong Kong Café and Pizza Hut. The John M. Gaus fund provided additional support. We are grateful to all of our sponsors.

Planning is underway for the 4th house party scheduled for September 2012.

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