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UC Irvine’s Annual Wayzgoose Festival On April 16

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On Saturday, April 16 grown men in earth-toned leggings and plastic armor will be chasing each other through Aldrich Park, stopping to exchange blows from time to time, and the UC Irvine Police Department will not stop them. Women will dress as medieval maidens with their flowing skirts and wreaths of flowers and ribbons in their hair and no one will wonder whether they missed the memo regarding the mini-skirt-with-Ugg-boots phenomenon.
UCI club members will be stationed at their respective grills, rolling up their short sleeved T-shirts to create make-shift tank tops in order to tan their shoulders while barbequing practically everything imaginable.
Performance groups will showcase their talents and a myriad of bands will provide the background music for what is anticipated to be a sunny Saturday in the park.
Yes, Wayzgoose is coming. Can you smell the sunblock (SPF 50) and barbeque?
‘I have big hopes for this year because everyone has waited almost two years for another Wayzgoose,’ said ASUCI Festivals Commissioner, Nathan Lee. ‘I am excited to see everyone come together for a community event as big as this.’
Hopefully the weather will cooperate for this year’s Wayzgoose Festival. Last year, Wayzgoose was canceled due to heavy rains.
‘There is always a concern for weather, but we’ve been keeping a close eye on the weather this year and I’m pretty confident that it will be nice out,’ Lee said. ‘As far as developing a Plan B, because this is such a huge event it cannot be scheduled for a different day due to weather issues, which is why we Wayzgoose was canceled last year.’
The Wayzgoose Festival is essential a UC Irvine ‘Open House’ that is open to both the UCI community and the general public. The festival gives the surrounding Orange County area a chance to explore the campus and attend information sessions regarding different facilities and programs on campus. In addition, trolley tours of Ring Road will also be available.
Aside from the informative nature of Wayzgoose, the festival is also about having fun outdoors. Numerous UCI clubs and organizations will maintain booths along the pathways in Aldrich Park selling goods or organizing activities in order to raise money for their causes.
‘The biggest challenge in putting together Wayzgoose is making sure that all of the small details are taken care of,’ Lee said. ‘There are so many things to do that sometimes it is easy to overlook the small stuff, which actually has a direct effect on the larger picture in terms of planning. A lot of people don’t realize that the detailed amount of planning that takes place to ensure that a festival as large as Wayzgoose is successful. Wayzgoose takes months to put together and the outcome is usually nothing shy of amazing.’
Part of what makes Wayzgoose so successful is the massive amount of entertainment that is scheduled through out the day. One of the main attractions of Wayzgoose is the music stage. In order to showcase what UCI has to offer, many of the bands selected to perform were selected not only for their talent, but because their bandmembers contain UCI students in addition to a larger headlining act.
‘I am looking forward to hearing the live entertainment,’ Lee said. ‘I personally found the talent so I am excited to see them perform for the rest of the students. I like the lineup because it showcases a lot of different talents.’
The musical acts scheduled for this year’s Wayzgoose are as follows:
10:00 A.M. – The Links
11:00 A.M. – Girl Down
12:00 P.M. – Natusol
1:00 P.M. – Void 808
2:00 P.M. – Fertile Soil
3:00 P.M. – Ankore
Performing at 4:00 P.M. in the headlining position is alternative-rock band Over It. Headliners of the past have included Tone-Loc and Zebrahead (who was unfortunately rained out last year).
‘We have a huge diversity of music which will allow everyone to enjoy some part of the show,’ Lee said. ‘Members of Natusol and The Links are students here at UCI. In addition we have bands such as Ankore who have opened up for major hip-hop artists around the country. Overall, there is a mixture of rock, hip-hop and a little bit of reggae. This is definitely a festival for any student looking to enjoy a wide variety of music.’
In addition to the Wayzgoose Medieval Faire, Saturday also marks Earth Day and the Seventh Annual Car Show, both of which will also take place in Aldrich Park. Earth Day is scheduled to take place from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M., while the Car Show will occur from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.. The car show consists of cars from different eras and includes various contests for cars of different criteria.
For more information on Wayzgoose visit the Web site at www.students.uci.edu/celebrate.