On Thursday on South Quad, Welsh Family Hall hosted its annual Hoedown Throwdown, a country-themed dance party. Hoedown Throwdown began at 5 p.m. with donuts, apple cider and dancing.
”It’s Welsh Fam’s biggest event of the year; we have three events, and this one’s the biggest. We try to hype it up right at the beginning of the school year,” senior resident assistant Abby Klink said. “It’s got a lot of fun things and gives fall vibes — really fits in with the Fall Fest. It’s just good: good things, good times, good cause for Unity Gardens.”
As mentioned on their website, Unity Gardens is Welsh Family Hall's community partner and is “a collaborative network of community gardens originated to increase the availability, awareness, and accessibility of healthy, locally grown food.” The proceeds from snacks and tickets to ride the mechanical bull go to supporting the organization’s mission in providing accessible healthy food to the South Bend community.
“We do it every year, our Hoedown Throwdown and all of our donations go to Unity Gardens, which is our community partner. Our signature event funds always go to Unity Gardens, an organization where they provide healthy foods to impoverished areas in South Bend. [Hoedown Throwdown] has been passed on from year to year and it’s our only signature event,” sophomore Kara Gallagher, Welsh Family Hall president, said.
For many, the main attraction of Hoedown Throwdown was the chance to ride the mechanical bull.
“I came because it's my dorm's fundraising event and I wanted to ride the bull. I’m feeling pretty confident. I’m from Texas, so I have good faith in myself,” freshman Paige Binns said.
Paige Binns, a resident of Welsh Family Hall, rides the mechanical bull at Hoedown Throwdown.
Last year, the Hoedown Throwdown mechanical bull-riding record was 59 seconds, a record that held strong this year. The bull, which arrived with some mechanical difficulties, wasn’t available for riding until 6 p.m., about halfway through the event.
“My main role has been ordering the bull and then getting people together to decorate and set up and prepare for the event,” special events commissioner junior Greta McEvoy stated. “We had some resources from last year as to which companies they were considering, so I reached out to each [company] and got a quota, and based on that, we went with the best option, but not sure if it was the best option as it turns out.”
Gallagher mentioned that what took the most coordination was in obtaining the mechanical bull, which led to different contracts being negotiated.
"The biggest thing [to plan] is getting the mechanical bull, which requires a lot of back-and-forth planning contracts,” Gallagher said. “We got some donuts and apple cider and then we basically just had to plan with the university to get the event space approved, and then we did a lot of advertising around the dorm.”
Despite technical difficulties, the event had many visitors participating in other activities at the event, such as karaoke and line dancing.
“The best part is how everybody dresses up. That's something that started last year. We get super into it. The line dancing instructors are something new and awesome. I love that people come and really dive in head first,” Klink said.
