People and Community University

Canes in Color

About 200 students attended the first annual Electronic Dance Music paint party event on the Foote Green.
Canes in Color

The first annual “Canes in Color” event was held recently on the Foote Green, which was transformed into a dance floor for an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) paint party.

Students danced the night away as they were splashed with paint during the March 24 event, hosted by Hurricane Productions (HP).

“The purpose of the event was to bring something new and fun to campus that students could enjoy,” said Sophie Barros, chair of HP. “We've never had an EDM paint party before so it was more about bringing something innovative and new that everyone could enjoy on campus for free.”

The idea to bring an EDM paint party to campus came about when Daytime and Special Events Chair, Alex Kamphorst, visited the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) conference last semester. The conference showcased different activities to bring to campuses and the idea for a paint party came up. Afterwards, Alex began to contact different vendors until the choice was made to bring Operation Glow to campus.

Students at Canes in ColorThe event began at 9 p.m. on the Green where students were able to receive free snow cones, tank tops, head bands, and glow sticks. About 200 students attended the party but not all stayed to get painted on.

“We can’t deny that attendance was lower than we were hoping; we had a big basketball game that night and many students were in exams,” Barros said.

“However, it was really inspiring to see that the students who did go were dancing, enjoying the paint and really having a great time,” Barrios continued. “There is still space for improvement, of course, but it was nonetheless a success in our book.”

Barros hopes that the event can be repeated but with a larger crowd and during a less busy time, such as Fall Orientation or Canes Carnival. Although nothing is set yet, according to Barros, “it is definitely a possibility.”

Sophomore Valentina Vargas heard about Canes in Color and decided to go after a long day of studying.

“I thought it was a good idea, but I was hoping more people would have attended.” Vargas said. “But I still had a great time.” 

Vargas also mentioned that she would enjoy going to the event if it was put on again, but that she would go with more of her friends.