Hoodie Allen (Steven Adam Markowitz) rocked WittFest with “no interruptions” this weekend, headlining the day-long event ,which included 16 performances, inflatables, caricature artists, henna tattoos and hourly giveaways.
In addition to Allen, WittFest included performances from Wittenberg Student Dance Company, Just Eve, WittMen Crew, Blackbox Improv and several guest and local artists.
The event was a chance to highlight the talents of the Wittenberg community.
Allen’s headlining performance itself worked to highlight Wittenberg, complete with a freestyle rap paying homage to Wittenberg’s most respected traditions, as well as “Tiger Up” chants, a chance to hate on Wooster and a student dance-off.
The dance-off was a crowd favorite, as students were able to see four of their peers battling it out on stage. Each contestant was allowed one song, and the vote was based on audience reaction.
First-year student Keith “Big Sexy” Gordon took the top prize, which meant $20 cash, a new t-shirt and a great Snapchat story featuring Allen.
“My first experience of WittFest left me speechless,” Gordon said. “I truly enjoyed the fellowship of the tiger nation.”
It’s safe to say the concert was sweet; between Allen’s performance of “Cake Boy” and the cake he threw into the audience, the show was well-received. The songs didn’t stand alone, however. Allen aided his performance with the help of an on-stage DJ, several cover songs and an interactive light show.
“I thought Hoodie Allen was creative in the things he did to appeal to the crowd other than just performing his songs, such as the dance-off and performing a Twenty-One Pilots song,” sophomore Jersson Pachar said.
Sponsored by Union Board, the event works to provide a free and enjoyable concert experience to all Wittenberg students, thus fulfilling Union Board’s goal of providing safe and fun entertainment programming to students.
“I don’t think students realize how much hard work goes into making WittFest successful. Union Board’s main goal is to provide this opportunity free of cost to our students,” Carly Bockhold, Union Board Annual Events co-chair, said. “All mine and the board’s hard work paid off, and it was amazing to step back and see how it all happened.”
An enjoyable concert for spectators isn’t the only thing WittFest has to offer, however. It is an event that allows for Wittenberg’s talented performers to share their work with a wider audience, and gain experience working within an official venue.
According to performer junior Curtis Mäkelä, playing at WittFest was a great way to prepare for future performances by allowing him and his band the opportunity to set up and make adjustments with a formal sound crew. Mäkelä also enjoyed sharing his talents with his peers.
“It was cool to look out and see a bunch of my friends, faces staring back as we shared little pieces of ourselves,” Mäkelä said. “It’s just a really fun atmosphere.”
