The Student Activities Board held its event, Monmouth Mania, in the Ocean First Bank Center on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The event took place at 7:30 p.m. and ended at approximately 10:00 p.m. and was a successful start to the semester for the Student Activities Board.
Over 300 tickets were sold by the start of the concert while more students continued to purchase tickets at the door.
Students were charged $15 to attend the concert and were allowed to purchase one guest ticket for $25.
Starting Thursday, Sept. 14 ticket prices were reduced to $5 for students and $10 for guests in order to promote sales. Those who purchased tickets prior to the reduced prices were able to get a refund if desired.
The concert was headlined by White Panda who performed at popular music festival Firefly this past summer. Monmouth student David Krumbine, sophomore and brother of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Kappa Psi, was featured as the opening act under the stage name DJ KRUM.
Tianna Fougeray, Novelties Chair and senior marketing and management major at Monmouth, said, “White Panda always wears their panda masks because they don’t want anyone knowing what they actually look like. I think the whole concept behind them having an anonymous identity while also creating a signature look for themselves is really clever. It definitely added to the atmosphere of the event.”
Students were able to dance and listen to EDM music at the rave-like event.
Awareness Chair and junior at Monmouth, Kendall Lotosky, was highly involved in promoting and putting the event together.
“We started ticketing for the event almost immediately once everyone was back at Monmouth. Everyone definitely had to pull their own weight and dedicate the free time they had to make sure we were promoting the event. I don’t think people realize how much work goes into all of the events we host!”
Lotosky continued, “The day before and day of the concert was a lot of work but worth it. We had to put flooring tiles down to protect the actual flooring and set up the stage and lights to name a few things. It was really cool to see it all come together.”
James Ruffino, senior and Vice President of Membership and Marketing, was in charge of organizing the event. The concert has been in the works for two years and is the first event of its kind at Monmouth since Groove Boston, a similar event the Student Activities Board put on in 2014.
“I attended Groove Boston when I was a freshman at Monmouth. It was cool to be on the other side of things and see an event like this come together and actually be a part of making it into a reality,” Fougeray said.
“Seeing students enjoy the night and music after the work that was put in behind the scenes was really rewarding as well.”
Monmouth Mania was another successful event from the Student Activities Board.
Crystalyn Espinal, Assistant Director of Student Activities at Monmouth and Student Activities Board Advisor, said, “Monmouth Mania was an event for students, new and returning, to enjoy good music, have fun with friends, and even meet new people all while enjoying a great show from White Panda!”
Be on the lookout for more events to be held by the Student Activities Board this semester!
PHOTO COURTESY of Brianna Licciardello
