Meijer hosted the 10th annual Meijer Mania event for returning Eastern Michigan University students. Privately hired tour buses picked students up at various points on campus and dropped them off at the south entrance of Meijer on Carpenter Road in Ypsilanti.
The event ran from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. and the store bustled with excited students. While many students took advantage of the free bus ride, an equal number of students arrived by private vehicle. By 8 p.m. the parking lot was filled almost to Carpenter Road.
Many students were still wearing EMU shirts from College Color Day, and they were seen trickling in as early as 5:30 pm in anticipation of a good time and great deals.
Every register was open during the event and lines for the registers stretched 10 to 15 customers deep. It looked reminiscent of what one might find at a Black Friday shopping event.
Eight main hotspots were scattered throughout the store with a DJ playing in the middle. Meijer cleared out sections of the women’s and men’s department to make space for the DJ and to create a dance floor.
The remaining seven locations featured a football tossing contest, Plinko boards, a photo booth, basketball hoops, a cereal eating contest, an activation table and grand prize drawing tables.
Prizes were things ranging from iPod Shuffles and TV’s to gift cards.
“It’s my first time coming. It’s cool,” said Simone Tisder, a junior studying criminology. She was anxious for more of her friends to arrive to the dancing area.
In addition to the eight areas, there were 19 sample stations on the perimeter of the store. Hot dogs, ice cream, nuts, crackers, beef stew, popcorn and many other items were given to customers and students courtesy of various manufacturers that were represented.
The dance contest drew a large crowd, including the EMU cheer-leading team. Contestants wowed the crowd with their best moves and with their voices.
EMU sophomores Mariah Miller and Bria Maclin competed in the cereal eating contest against other students and customers. They were to consume four cups of Meijer Fruit Pebbles cereal mixed with 2 cups of milk.
“It was kind of gross,” said Miller.
The cereal eating contest’s winner was EMU senior Martin Urbaniak, who won a $25 Meijer gift card.
“Milk was a bad choice,” Urbaniak said.
Meijer did a great job welcoming home the EMU Eagles and the event was a success. All the attendees appeared to be in great spirits. Those who did not participate in the various contests came away with awesome memories to round out the first week of the Fall semester.
