Campus Life at Eastern Michigan University is hosting a unique Swooptacular Spooktacular event at the first floor of Student Center on Oct. 13 from 7-9 p.m., featuring multiple bizarre activities and exhibits meant to stun the observer.
Some of the tricks Campus Life has planned are stilt walkers, reptile showings and acrobatic performers.
“It’s going to be a night of entertainment,” Sara Bamrick, coordinator of engagement & activities at Campus Life, said. “It’s an opportunity for students to be introduced to a new thing and to meet fellow people that are interested in the bizarre and spooky.”
The vendors selected for this event curate a surreal atmosphere to transport students into a circus-like setting. Courtesy of the Detroit Circus, ariel acrobats will display their tricks as they hang from fabric attached to the ceiling, and stilt walkers in elaborate costumes will tower over observers.
Herps Alive, a nonprofit organization that cares for neglected or abused reptiles, will bring in twenty diverse types of reptiles, so that students can learn about the scaly animals, interact with them and take pictures to hold onto.
People attending can meet the vendors and other students engaged in the event. The organizers recognize the event as social, meant to bond students together over comical moments and extraordinary sights. Moreover, this occasion is a chance to face some fears and push comfort zones.
Intent on giving students a novel experience, Campus Life has provided a unique collection of food, uplifting, mysterious music, and smaller activities for students to partake in. Organizers will ask willing students to write short eerie stories and collect them to be redistributed. It’s a chance for students to immerse themselves in the experience and create something from it.
“We want to put on an experience that students can’t craft on their own. That’s the goal, to give you something you can’t just do in a residence hall or with your friends,” Bamrick said.
