MAV Fest brings MSU together
Minnesota State University, Mankato hosted its annual MAV Fest event this past Tuesday. The event took place in the Dining Center lawn where students and attendees gathered to enjoy a night filled with music, yard games, free snacks and gift giveaways.
MAV Fest is a part of Welcome Week celebrations for incoming and returning students at MSU. Each year, the event is hosted by the Students Event Team on campus and it aims at bringing students together to socialize and connect with each other. This year the event was sponsored by Summit and Jacob Heights, fun.com and Spectrum.
Maggie Driemeyer, the Concert Chair for the Student’s Event Team, explained the main premise of the event is to let incoming students come out and meet people.
“It’s a little cliche and sounds almost like a broken record at this point, but it’s really important [to attend],” said Driemeyer. “You’re going to be here for four years, so you have to meet people, and since you’re paying a lot for tuition, you should do everything that the university has to offer.”
Driemeyer also added,”Mavfest is advertised as a welcome week event for new incoming students to come together. It’s a super casual night and anyone can walk up and attend and it’s also completely free.”
This year, the event featured the local Mankato based band, “IV Play.” Throughout the night, the band sang covers of numerous songs from country classics to rock’n’roll. Driemeyer picked the band as they perform cover songs that a lot of people know.
“We really wanted to make sure that we are catering to everybody’s music taste. IV Play is a local band, and they cover a lot of genres,” explained Driemeyer.
The night had a lot to offer. In addition to the music, the sponsors of the night had stalls set up across the lawns which featured multiple giveaway games. In one corner of the lawn, there was a hot dog grill out and a snack bar that was free for all attendees. Members of the sororities and fraternities also had stalls set up for recruitment purposes.
MSU junior Pa Kou Kong attende MAV Fest and enjoyed the event.
“I really liked it. We don’t get that many concerts on campus, so Mavfest is always fun. Its also the first week of classes so everyone’s relaxed and it’s more enjoyable,” said Kong.
Jeongwon Shin, a new incoming freshman at MSU, also attended the event.
”It was fun for me. I got to meet a lot of new people and I won a t-shirt and a keychain,” said Shin.
The next incoming event hosted by the Student Events Team is scheduled for this Friday, Aug. 26 2022. It’s an outdoor movie showing of “Lightyear.”
Write to Hafsa Peerzada at syedahafsa.peerzada@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: The local band “IV Play” performed at MAV Fest on Tuesday. The event was an opportunity for students to meet new people, enjoy free food and make memories. (Dylan Long/ The Reporter)