The few snowflakes swirling around Tom Millas’ head served as yet another reminder of how much MayFest has changed in four years.

‘My freshman year was the last year of true MayFest,’ said Millas, a senior public relations major. ‘It was in the high 60s, sunny, with a slight breeze.’

This year’s MayFest consisted of a celebration in Walnut Park from 1-6 p.m., during which students were provided with free food and music. Students 21 and older were able to drink free beer by showing valid government-issued identification and their student IDs.

The weather this year was not great, Millas said, but he still enjoyed the free food and was excited for OutaSight to perform.

‘It’s starting to fill out now,’ he said, looking around as students streamed through the gates and into Walnut Park.

Near the entrance, students dressed in North Face jackets and hoodies crowded around the stage where the musical acts were performing. Next to the stage, Z89 gave out free beach balls and Megabus handed out free T-shirts. Toward the back, students ate their fill of free food and stuffed their pockets and bags with more for later.

Mike Nickerson, a senior biology major, said he still had fun because the university supplied free beer but was also disappointed with this year’s MayFest compared to years past.

‘There’s not the same spirit as the other years,’ he said. ‘Before, everyone was celebrating the beginning of summer in shorts and flip-flops. It’s not like that now.’

Department of Public Safety Chief Tony Callisto said DPS officials began patrolling Walnut Park around 11 a.m. Throughout the day, he estimated that a total of 2,500 people were in Walnut Park. He said the weather kept more people from partaking in MayFest activities.

‘We had significantly more folks at Walnut Park in 70 degree weather two years ago than we did today with 40 degree weather,’ Callisto said.

Cpl. Adam Wheeler of DPS said no incidents occurred in Walnut Park, and the atmosphere was calm.

‘It’s usually pretty mellow here. There are never really any major accidents. But it is really, really cold,’ Wheeler said.

Despite the cold, Stephanie Ricciardi said she still made the most of a chilly MayFest.

‘There aren’t as many people here as usual,’ said Ricciardi, a junior communications design major. ‘Usually, it’s so packed by now that there’s no room.’

The weather didn’t keep Maghan Pombo from coming down to Walnut Park though. After going back to her dorm to get another jacket, the freshman public health major said she was ready to brave the weather and enjoy her first MayFest.

Pombo said she prefers MayFest to Juice Jam because there are more opportunities to socialize and meet new people.

‘At Juice Jam, everyone is there for the music, but MayFest is a lot more social,’ she said. ‘Someone I didn’t even know came up to me, and we started talking. It’s fun.’

But Pombo said she still enjoyed the music. She is a big fan of Aer and said she was very excited to see them live.

Melaina Reney, a freshman childhood education major, also said she was a fan of the music. She said she liked Timeflies because they ‘really got the crowd going’ and were energetic.

The festivities at Walnut Park also included The Daily Orange Wing Eating Contest, sponsored by Wings. The winner was determined by whichever contestant ate the most honey barbecue wings in seven minutes. Dylan Lustig and Allie Curtis, president and vice president of Student Association, respectively, were among the contestants.

The winner, Wyatt LeBeau, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry student, ate 1.81 pounds of wings and was awarded $100 in cash, a $100 gift card to Wings and a large trophy.

‘Today has been pretty awesome,’ LeBeau said. ‘I dedicated my entire day to eating these wings, so it was pretty worth it.’ The junior environmental law and policy major added that despite the weather, it was still a great day.

jliannet@syr.edu
mhnewman@syr.edu

Published on April 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm