Over 3,500 students turned out to the second annual Hullabaloo festival which took place on Friday, Nov. 16. Musicians and DJs such as the M Machine, XV and DJ Chris Cutz performed in the concert at Town Square.
According to Marketing and Media Director of A.S. Concerts and Events Frederic Klein, since there is no official count, attendance rates are based on the number of wristbands distributed. This shows an increase from last year’s over 3,000-student participation in the festival’s first year.
Hullabaloo marks the culmination of Founders Day and included a daytime event welcoming Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and a nighttime carnival with music, rides and student organization booths.
ASCE had the same $62,500 budget as last year allocated by A.S. Council. An extra $2,500 was obtained through sponsorship that ASCE has pursued since May from sources such as the UCSD Bookstore, University Centers and Founders’ Celebration.
This year, Hullabaloo centered on UCSD’s Founders Day by branding the number “8” on posters around campus to represent the introduction of UCSD’s eighth chancellor, Pradeep Khosla. The tagline for Founders Day was “We Inspire,” which was integrated through the promotion of student organizations in booths around the perimeter of Town Square. A contest was held for students to make a film that integrated the Hullabaloo tagline, and Meghan Hayes’ winning film was featured on large screens at the performance stage.
The festivities began at 11 a.m. with a speech from Chancellor Khosla, booths by UCSD academic communities and food trucks distributing free samples. At 8 p.m., the music performances began and carnival rides — including the Zipper, Paratrooper, Human Bowling and Bungee Run — opened.
“It’s basically a giant birthday party for the school,” Festival Director of ASCE Andrea Hsueh said. “We hope that students will get increased school pride and student unity from this festival.”
Philip Deleon, a freshman from Thurgood Marshall College, compared Hullabaloo to commercial festivals like Oktoberfest and liked the Hullabaloo set-up.
“Having the food, booths and rides separate makes it really organized,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m being smushed the whole time, though there are lots of people here.”
Brittany Rhyme, a senior in Thurgood Marshall College, was at the festival for two hours but was not able to experience any of the rides.
“I like that there is more stuff to do than just be at a concert,” Rhyme said. “But the rides could be better and the lines are too long to wait in.”
Food trucks such as Devilicious, Dog Shack and Super Q were open throughout the night with special $5 student deals created especially for the event.
Students who got their Founders Day card stamped by five booths during the day received free light sticks for the concert.
“We really wanted students to feel more connected to campus traditions and history,” Hsueh said. “The student org booths were set up to display what students are really passionate about.”
