No amount of rain could stop SAB from pulling off Monmouth Palooza over the weekend. The event, which was originally set to take place on the residential quad at 4pm on Saturday September 13th, was relocated to Anacon Hall due to the inclement weather conditions.
After an admirable effort by the Students Activities Board to try and ignore the rainy weather, and instead create an atmosphere in which students could enjoy themselves, Monmouth Palooza seemed to be a success. The relaxed, beach-themed environment of the event was complete with a mechanical shark to ride on, snacks, a chance to create your own “stunner shades,” and a live band.
Royal Blend, band chosen to play the event, combined elements of island reggae, classic rock, along with the use of electric piano and British lead singer. Devon Ribsam, a senior English major and member of the University’s Ice Hockey Club, happened to personally know two of the members of Royal Blend and stuck around Monmouth Palooza to support the local band.
“I’m having a good time,” Ribsam said when asked about his experience there. “This is actually one of the first SAB events I’ve been to.”
Brian Zuber, the father of one of the band members, attended the event with his wife in support of their son, and was pleased by the turnout.
“It [Monmouth Palooza] is great. It would probably be better if it was outside so it could attract more people, but I think the band sounds good,” Zuber said.
According to members of SAB, this year’s Monmouth Palooza went well, but it could have been even better had the weather not been a factor. Taylor Carson, a junior international business and finance majors, and the concerts chair of SAB, rated the event as an “8” on a 1-10 scale.
“We had a rock wall we were going to set up on the Quad, as well as a DJ stand,” Carson explained, “but because of the weather we were forced to relocate and we couldn’t fit those into Anacon Overall I think we did a good job.”
Carson went on to explain that Monmouth Palooza, which was planned by SAB Festivals Chair Jeff Singh, was co-sponsored by Phi Kappa Psi, who generously assisted with the setup and breakdown of the event, as well as manned the sand candy station.
Students came and went throughout the day, a lot of whom who had just stumbled upon the event without prior knowledge that it was even being held. Most students seemed to gather around the mechanical shark, or play a quick round of volleyball with their friends.
“The mechanical shark was definitely the favorite,” said Carson. “People were having contests to see who could stay on the longest.”
Monmouth Palooza proved to be a way for students to get escape from the sporadic New Jersey weather to a tropical, tiki-themed event. It also provided a chance for people to catch up with one another, meet new people, and get excited to be back at school.
SAB holds events throughout the year. Their next events include Dakaboom Comedy Duo on September 26th and a psychic fair on September 27th.
