Block party boasts big crowd

Jordan Leigh Haiduk / The Bulletin

UAC members try to inform new students on how to get involved on campus during Party on the Lawn outside of the Morse Complex on Monday, August 18. The next event hosted by UAC will be BINGO night on August 28.

An estimated 1000 students attended the annual Block Party on Tuesday evening. Students agreed that this year’s Block Party surpassed those of the past.

“I think there’s a lot more people here than last year and I think it’s a little more organized as far as where the booths are,” said Rachel McCommon, sophomore elementary education major.

Some students attended the Block Party to learn more about local businesses and opportunities, while others came to reconnect with old friends.

“[The best part was] seeing a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time,” McCommon said. “It’s been like a reunion.”

Some freshmen were excited about their first impressions of the Emporia community.

“It’s really diverse with a lot of different people and there’s more stuff to do and more stores around here than I thought,” said Raeanne Yoder, freshman nursing major.

Students were given a Student Passport to Downtown Fun as they entered the Block Party. As students visited various booths, they could have their passports stamped and then enter a filled passport into a drawing for a prize. Free t-shirts, food, flowers and other promotional items were also available.

Over 35 booths representing local businesses lined Commercial Street, and gave students and business owners the opportunity to meet. One booth was sponsored by the David Traylor Zoo. Zoo volunteers said there were many reasons they wanted to have a booth.

“Many people don’t know there’s a zoo in town,” said Deb Burns-Heinitz, a volunteer at the zoo. “There’s several opportunities for students. If students want to go through docent training, they can show animals, especially the biology and zoology people. That’s a good thing on a resume… it’s a community thing. We want to let people know we’re there and they’re welcome to join in at anytime.

Burns-Heinitz carried a lizard on her shoulder during the event to help educate students about reptiles.

“You don’t get to touch a lizard much and we want to try and get the students interested in the zoo,” Burns-Heinitz said.

Local business owners enjoyed the opportunity to greet students who are new and who are returning to the community.

“We like things to be downtown and we like Emporia to have a strong downtown and Emporia State is really the center of that, too,” said Marla McClellan, a representative of The Town Crier bookstore. “We like to see the kids and we like to see the ones that are excited about reading.”

The party also included recorded music, Karaoke, and the Emporia Art Mobile.