Costumes, live music, free food and deserts, inflatables, a free photo booth, interactive art stations designed and managed by students, a parade featuring a hand-made and dragon – Troyapalooza brought out thousands of goblins and ghouls for a slam-packed night of fun.Organized by the International Art Center and the Department of Art and Design, Troyapalooza has been an annual event for four years, allowing students to celebrate the Fall season in a festive, spooky atmosphere with the local Troy community.
Troyapalooza began with a parade of students in Professor Johnny Farrow’s Collaborative Studio class who have spent the entire semester designing and hand-building a glittering green dragon costume so humongous it had to be worn by multiple people. The class, and their friends, beat drums and shook noise makers to get people excited for the festival.
“I was entrusted with the creation of our dragon puppet’s head, which was a massively daunting project for me, since I have not had much experience with making sculptures,” said senior Sarah Robbins, a Mobile, Alabama, native double majoring in art and English.
“However, after last night’s parade and the amazing reactions from everyone, I can confidently say that I feel affirmed in my art.
“Seeing my weeks of hard work finally come to life was so validating and rewarding.”The crowd was full of masks, makeup and flashy outfits. Some students wore costumes from anime series like “Dragon Ball” and “One Piece,” while others dawned their capes as superheroes and blood-soaked horror-themed characters.
Dalton Grady Hillis, a freshman music industry major from Summerville, Alabama got on stage in a ghost rider themed costume to become the nights champion in the costume contest which was decided by audience applause.
He said his costume was about more than just having fun.
“I want the community to create bonds with each other,” Gray said. “The energy here tonight is just fantastic, and everyone is definitely going to remember this.
“I am completely over the moon right now.”
Troy University’s popular music ensemble, POPulus, performed live on stage just below the International Arts Center at the amphitheater, singing Halloween-themed songs .
POPulus invited those brave enough to stand out amongst the scary crowd to dance and sing their spooky vibes right out onto the dance floor with in a multitude of colored lights.
However, the night held more than just terrifyingly good music and frightening costumes.
Behind the IAC were three interactive art stations managed by art students. One station allowed visitors to screenprint their own t-shirt with a student-designed Troyapalooza logo. Another station had a free photo booth.
A third station, comprised of a projector, a WII and an assembly line of students allowed visitors to create their own custom “mii” that then got printed onto a button they could keep.
Taylor Gray, a junior digital studio arts major from Ashville, Alabama, dressed in a fairy like outfit and assisted with the screenprinting station. She said she hoped her fellow classmates got to enjoybeing alongside those they care about.
“I really hope they get a sense of community,” Gray said. “It’s really easy to feel disconnected with everyone having their own classes, so with everyone joining here getting good food, music and t-shirts, I really hope that everyone just realizes how close everything actually is for everyone here.”
Burnard Thomas, vice president of campus affairs and a senior criminal justice major from Detroit, Michigan, said the event was great for every student on campus.
“Having halloween and homecoming in the same week really just brings a different kind of energy and vibes to this kind of thing,” Thomas said. “It’s just a great bundle of fun and atmosphere that students both local and international are able to see in the same setting.”
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