2013 Helen C. House Party

On Thursday, September 12th, College Library hosted the fifth annual Helen C. House Party. This year’s event brought in around 2,000 attendees and once again included plenty of entertainment, games, and free food for all students. As they entered the library, all were greeted by one of this year’s newest features, the delightfully decorated #partycarrel!

Throughout the rest of the first floor, students had plenty of options for entertainment. Returning games like Human Foosball and Johann Sebastian Joust, sponsored by Games+Learning+Society, continued to prove popular, as did the Grand Prize Bucket game which allowed participants to win free food from Qdoba. Students also waited in line to get their faces painted, have their fortunes told, and get their palms read. And once again, Lochlan Masters made an appearance with his incredible, wearable balloon art.

Open Book hosted a number of entertaining activities, such as Sector 67, which brought back the amazing 3D printer and also taught students how to use soldering tools. The Arts & Crafts area gave people a place to decorate totebags, design their own buttons, or work on a knitting project. For those looking to bust a move, there was the Just Dance station, which attracted wannabe dancers throughout the evening.

Up on the second floor, the excitement continued. Many went up for the free food from sponsors Pizza Hut, Qdoba, Potbelly, Ian’s, Domino’s, and Milio’s, but stayed for the entertainment on the main stage. Those waiting in line got the chance to witness some incredible performances from various campus groups like Capoeira, Bellydancing UW, Madison Area Jugglers, The Understudies, and Rhythm Per Second. Meanwhile, DJs from WSUM played tunes between the acts.

This year also brought in plenty of new activities for students. There was a carnival in Room 2191 featuring games created by librarians from across campus. Students had the chance to play games such as Pick-a-Duck, CEO Pong, and Chicken Toss to win tickets, which they could then use to claim glamorous prizes like books, stuffed rainbow unicorns, and a Bucky Popple! For those who wanted to take a break from all the games, they could take a seat with some friends and test their general knowledge with Team Trivia hosted by Kris Turner from the Law Library.

On the other side of the second floor in the CMC, students had the chance to travel through time in the Retro Photo Booth! After picking out props and a setting, students had their pictures taken in front a green screen and then edited by the staff of DesignLab so that they were inserted into images from UW’s past, courtesy of University Archives.

This year’s Helen C. House Party was sponsored once again by the Center for the First-Year Experience, as well as Pepsi and Canteen Vending and our other food sponsors. Thank you to everyone who supported and attended this year’s event.

Planning is underway for the sixth annual house party scheduled for September 2014.

(for more images, check out the library’s house party photostream on Flickr)