On Friday, Oct. 9, The CAP Center Core held its annual Block Party event. With the current COVID-19 precautions, the event differed from previous years. 

Typically, the Block Party event is held in the quad between Vedder Hall and Smith Hall to encourage first-year students to attend. However, this year’s Block Party was spread out between the Seventh Street Studio & MakerSpace and Uptown to reduce crowd sizes. In accordance with COVID-19 guidelines, activities were held outside, food handed out was individually packaged and hand sanitizer was readily available at every table. 

One of the activities for this event was the BMX Show. There were three shows throughout the evening, all of which were held at the parking lot of Seventh Street Studio & Makerspace . During the shows, students watched two BMX bike riders perform tricks. Students volunteers stood in the center of the stage where BMX riders jumped over them. There was also an opportunity for students to win a signed poster from the BMX riders. To win, students had to correctly name the tricks the BMX riders performed. 

“It was cool getting jumped over by a guy on a BMX bike,” student volunteer Cole Zehe ’23 said.

“It is always great to bring something new and thrilling to campus. We chose BMX because we were looking for something that added lots of energy to our event,” event planner Danielle O’Sullivan ’24 said.

There was t-shirt screen printing at the Seventh Street Studio & Makerspace where students chose a design of their choice to put on a colored t-shirt. Some of the prints included University and Seventh Street logos. 

There were also many activities in the area between Swartz and McDonnell Halls including Bubble Making — with giant bubbles rather than the typical standard size — and Laser Tag. Many students tried their hand at making the perfect giant bubble, capturing themselves encased in the bubbles for a photo. 

“I never imagined that one could fit two people in a bubble. I can check that off the bucket list,” April Hurlock ’23 said.

The CAP Center Core will be holding a carnival this Friday, Oct. 16 at Uptown, which will include a magician and balloon artist. The Seventh Street Studio & Makerspace will also be holding a DIY Milkshake event on Friday, Oct. 16