Last year’s Campus Block Party was a resounding hit, an all-day showcase for Eugene music and art that a few too-rowdy revelers couldn’t upset. Now, the team that got that festival off the ground is back with a new event: the UO Campus Oktoberfest, an homage to the Bavarian fall festival featuring DJs, bands, comedy, German food, prizes, a cupcake catapult contest (exactly what it sounds like) and a live showing of the Oregon game against the California Golden Bears.
Ethos Magazine is the main host of the festivities, along with Duck TV and UO sports blog Pit Crew. The team is heavy on Block Party alumni, including president and PR director Lindsey Simmons and fundraiser-booker Daniel Kantor.
They’ve got a wide array of sponsors on their side from Caspian to Off The Waffle to Growler U – the latter two of which will be raffling off coupons. The team aims to improve on Block Party as much as possible, hoping to retain its carefree vibe while maintaining a more organized schedule.
The event will be starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24 on the South Lawn behind the Knight Library, a relatively secluded part of campus that Simmons hopes will give a more relaxed air to the event. “I wanted it to be somewhere where a typical student wouldn’t feel like they were at school,” Simmons said. “Everyone knows that area, but they might not spend a lot of time there, so I feel like it would be more relaxed than if we had it right in the middle of campus.”
The event’s campus location and target demographic of UO students means no alcohol will be served during the event. But no Oktoberfest is complete without beer, so Ethos will host a 21+ after-party at Taylor’s from midnight to 2 a.m., featuring half-off appetizers and a selection of German beers that might actually be served at a traditional Oktoberfest.
Independent booking agent Daniel Kantor is in charge of booking; he was one of the original Block Party organizers. He’s put together a selection of three Eugene bands (Tyranno Tut, Pluto the Planet, and The Great Hiatum) and four DJs (Kittytrap, Good Vibes, Ricardo Acosta, and Sokko & Lyons). Two representatives from Eugene’s Stand-Up Society will also perform comedy sets. Kantor isn’t certain who yet, as the Stand-Up Society chooses their envoys.
While the DJs mostly cater to popular EDM and house music styles, Kantor made an unusual decision in booking Ricardo Acosta, a Mexican-born DJ who works in the relatively underground genre of minimal techno. Yet, both Kantor and Acosta are confident he will be a hit with the crowd.
“It’s not your typical day-glo Life In Color Steve Aoki sort of thing,” Kantor said. “But I trust he’s gonna know what to do.”
“Whenever I play at parties in Eugene people really enjoy it,” Acosta said. “There needs to be a way for people to be introduced to just how big the cave of electronic music is. I feel like people are right at the door, but it goes so much deeper, and I feel like people are going to open up – just give it time.”