On Friday, April 23, the University hosted Block Party, consisting of a series of fun outdoor activities for students –  including ‘goat yoga’ and a petting zoo. Campus Activities and Programs Core (CAP Core) hosted and executed the Block Party, which lasted from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. that night.

Two sessions of ‘goat yoga’ classes were held at the Commons lawn, one at 6:45 p.m. and one at 7:45 p.m. Each session was capped at 50 participants in order to social distance and respect COVID-19 guidelines. The hour long sessions provided students with a time to relax and do yoga, while also being surrounded with baby goats. The goats were friendly, climbing on students during the yoga, and students also had the opportunity to play with the goats at the end of the session.

Claudia Halbreiner ’23, had a blast with friends at ‘goat yoga.’ “Goat yoga was so much fun! It was a nice break from the stress that comes with the end of the semester, but seeing friends in a COVID-safe setting was so much fun! And the goats were so cute too,” Halbreiner said.

Heather Kirchner ’24 also enjoyed attending a ‘goat yoga’ session. “I really enjoy doing yoga and having baby goats there made the experience all the more fun,” Kirchner said.

Along with this activity, a series of events were hosted at Uptown on Friday night, including a petting zoo, outdoor games, a mechanical bull and a caricature artist. The petting zoo included animals such as goats, alpacas, bunnies and chickens.

CAP Core Marketing Specialist Alvin Huynh ’23 spoke with the Bucknellian about the Block Party and the planning behind it. “The Block Party is such an exciting and surprising Friday event. There’s always something new every time. Last Friday night, along with the goat yoga, we had a live petting zoo! We also had a bunch of people competing for the best time on the mechanical bull,” Huynh said.

Huynh continued, “Every time we start planning for the Block Party, we always keep or add things based on the success of the previous one. We work with each other and figure out which activities students like and which they don’t like. We always try to bring back goat yoga because it’s such a popular event each time! But due to COVID, we create sign-up sheets a week before the event and students usually fill it up days before the event. Thus, goat yoga seems like it won’t go away any time soon!”

Students enjoyed the Block Party and look forward to more Friday night events. “Uptown always hosts the most fun events on Friday nights!” Kirchner added about the event. “There’s so many opportunities to meet other students and socialize. I particularly enjoyed petting the animals at the petting zoo and riding the mechanical bull this past weekend.”