Students get ready to party all night long

The second annual All Night Party will be held this Friday in Hunt Arena and Knowles Center beginning at 9:00 p.m., and will continue into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

“The All Night Party was originally to try and keep students here on the weekends,” said Kia Amundson, a UW-River Falls senior and chair of the All Night Party. “We are sometimes known as a “suitcase campus” and we wanted to get people involved.”

During the festivities, which is free for students who present their student ID, those in attendance will be allowed to participate in many different events.

For those UWRF students who have friends or family members from out-of-town visiting on Friday, Amundson said the event is completely free for everyone.

“ ... Students are welcome to bring friends from on or off campus,” she said.

“Last year [we] were hoping that 200 or so students would attend,” Amundson said. “That number was completely beaten when over 500 students showed up.”

Playing BINGO, rock climbing, ice skating and blow-up boxing will be just some of the activities that will keep students entertained during the All Night Party.
Amundson also said that there will be a DJ and the first 100 people through the door will receive free T-shirts.

Students can enjoy free food, get their faces painted and get a picture taken with Freddy Falcon throughout the night.

The event is coordinated by numerous campus organizations and due to the success of last year, Amundson said they wanted to continue the tradition.

“[The All Night Party] is put on by the residence halls and [supported and] sponsored by the Recreation Committee, Area Council, NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary), other campus committees and community businesses.”

Amundson said that hall managers, resident assistants and students voluntarily work during the All Night Party.

May Hall Manager Rebecca Prybilla will be attending the event this year, but will not be able to stay the entire night.

“I am volunteering until 1:00 a.m., playing a couple games, and then I am coming back to hold the fort down in May Hall while my other staff members are enjoying the fun,” she said.

Some of those who helped coordinate the event last year will be helping out again during this year’s All Night Party.

“I helped organize the event last year and again this year,” senior Nick Lauer said. “I was there the whole time last year, and I really enjoyed seeing all of the people and seeing them have fun.”

Students don’t necessarily have to stay the entire night, but those who volunteer usually have to stick around to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.
“I will be there [the entire time] running around trying to keep everything organized,” Lauer said.

UWRF sophomore Kirsten Farrar was one of the students who did not stay for the entirety of the event last year.

“Although there was a lot of things that myself and my friends could do there, I don’t think that there was enough for us to stay the entire night,” she said. “We did everything that interested us, so we left.”

Others who attended the event last year said they had a fun time and are excited about this year’s All Night Party.

“I attended the All Night Party last year and I enjoyed it a lot,” senior Rob Nichols said. “There were so many activities, people and good food, too.”

Although he will not stay until it is over, Nichols said he is not looking forward to one specific aspect, but to the entire event.

“I don’t plan on staying the whole night because I don’t want to sleep the entire Saturday away, but I still should be up until early hours of the morning having fun,” he said.

This will be Farrar’s second All Night Party and she said she is excited, especially with the increase in first-year students on campus this year.

“Since there seems to be a lot more first-years here [I look forward] to seeing how many will show up,” she said. “I look forward also to seeing friends that I haven’t ran into so far on campus this year.”

Farrar said she was impressed with last year’s event, so she has no qualms about showing up at the All Night Party this year.

“I went to the all night party last year as a freshman,” she said. “I thought it was well put together and a lot of fun. There was something for everyone to do.”