The Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted their first ever Band and Bonfire night on Sept. 28. The event was planned by senior Josie Jenkins and sophomore Brandon Steiner.
If you are a student, faculty or staff member on campus, you have probably heard of CAB — a group made up of a team of students who host a variety of activities on campus. All events are free to Newman students and include activities such as Paint Your Own Canvas, Tie-Dye T-Shirts and Breakfast on the Quad.
The Band and Bonfire event was a collaborative event with CAB members and Newman residence assistants. Activities included an opening act by the Sloppy Joe Improv Troupe, a live performance by local band, The Byrons and roasting s’mores over a bonfire at the Dresselhaus SGA Patio on campus.
Jenkins and Steiner were working during their CAB office hours when they came up with the idea for their event. “We asked ourselves what would be the best way to get people to come to our event,” Jenkins said. “We decided on a bonfire and knew that if we added food and music, it would make for a great entertainment event on campus.”
The Byrons, a band composed of Newman sophomore Nick Wynn and Grant Risinger, performed live covers of music to include songs from the 1990s, popular rock, and songs from the Avett Brothers.
“We usually just play at coffee shops, create an event on Facebook and invite our friends,” Wynn said. “This time we performed for an entirely different crowd and there was a huge turnout, which we didn’t expect. I’d rate it ten out of ten and would definitely enjoy doing it again.”
There were 119 in attendance, which does not include faculty members or staff. The last 20 minutes of the event consisted of several students swing dancing, two-stepping and even Irish step dancing.
“This event wouldn’t have been so successful without help from the residence assistants, CAB members and the great amount of student participation,” Jenkins said. “Instead of competing, all areas of CAB work as a unit to make certain that our events are even better, which proves that if we put our minds together, we can make fun events like this happen.”
For those who are interested, The Byrons will be performing at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 at The Brickyard located in Old Town.
