Awake All Night Event – Brandon Liu
Student Union sent Wake Forest students on a playful trip back in time to the medieval age on the night of the 6th. The competitive and sportive nature of a knight was invoked at the highlight of the event as attendees raced on horses, jousted, and battled in tug of war. Hundreds of students showed up and were ready to enjoy the festivities at Benson Center, where the event occupied the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors. Free of cost, the event was open to students and friends from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am.
Benson center was decorated with balloons, streamers, and banners and rang with upbeat pop music. On the second floor, a film was being shown in the Pugh auditorium and a late night open mic was hosted in Shorty’s where students were given the opportunity to display their talents.
A large hand painted castle banner guided students to the third floor where tables of finger foods, cake, and punch occupied the center. Next to the food was a face painting and balloon art stand.
The usually quiet study space of Benson Center was replaced with a neon lit casino. Well-dressed, elderly, adults hosted Poker, blackjack, and roulette in which players could win poker chips that could be exchange for tickets used at the end of event raffle.
Wake Forest sophomore Jack Garvey organized both the Fall 2015 event and Spring 2016 Awake All Night event, leading both to be very successful.
“The turn out has been great, definitely more people than expected, it’s been fantastic. The most popular attraction is probably the build a bear workshop and the food is always big hit too.”
Said Student Union head of special events, Jack Garvey.
Dragons, unicorns, and bears were brought to life at the build a bear station in room 410 where students could give a soul and hand stuff the bears themselves. The option of machine stuffing was also available for those in a rush to explore more of the event.
Loud hammering came from the adjacent arts and craft room where students pounding metal stamps into leather to make bracelets. Three tables were set up, one for sand art, one for crafting and dying leather bracelets, and one for bead bracelets. At the sand art table, students could pick from a rainbow assortment of sand and stack it to create patterns in a jar.
“I found the sand art the most interesting but actually enjoyed watching people joust the most because it’s funny”, said Wake Forest graduate of 2015, Kyungjin Yoo who has been to two previous Awake All Night events.
In the corridor, a long line for a psychic led to the other side of the fourth floor where the light hearted medieval games took place. Jousters wore oversized suits with heavily padded poles in attempt to knock off the opponents head. Students also participated in the derby race using three inflatable green horses. They bounced and rocked their way slowly to the finish line and back. The tug of war rope which was almost the length of the entire room allowed anyone willing to show off their strength in one on one or team battles. Freshmen Sashank Sakamuri and Alessandro Rizzi left the event with three inch rope burns near their elbows in a close match.
Awake All Night is a semiannual event organized by the special events division of Student Union which meets every Tuesday at 5:00 pm to provide fun for all Wake students.
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