By Joel Sams
Senior News Writer
Johnson Hall’s annual Shocktoberfest celebration will be held at 8:30 p.m. tonight, Oct. 25. In addition to fall foods such as cider and caramel apples, Shocktoberfest will feature a chili cook-off, games hosted by each hall in Johnson and, a new addition this year, a mechanical bull.
Junior Elijah Friedeman, resident assistant (RA) of Johnson Third East, expects this Shocktoberfest to be unique.
“This year will be far better than before,” he said. “I mean, what can trump riding a mechanical bull?”
Junior Kevin Mansur says that the chili cook-off will be another highlight.
“We are having Becca and Courtney, from Kresge and Aldersgate, prepare chili recipes that are going to be out of this world,” he said. “We are also having our very own Doug Howland fixing up his special chili recipe. The competition will be great, and there will be plenty of chili to eat.”
Mansur says that he hopes to see the campus community experience fellowship on a weekend night.
“I am most excited to see campus come together on a Friday night and just hang out together,” he said. “Asbury is usually pretty dead on the weekends, and this will hopefully keep some people on campus and allow the students to have a good time.”
Sophomore Austin Howard says that he will probably go to Shocktoberfest to experience the mechanical bull, but he has culinary reasons as well.
“I’ve heard that Ben Clark and his brother make pretty good chili,” he said. “They’ll be the people to beat.”
Sophomore Fairynne Mathison says that she probably will not make it to Shocktoberfest because of time constraints, in addition to the fact that she did not know the event was happening this weekend.
“I’d have to see if my friends were going,” she said. “It sounds like a good time, but I’m swamped this week.”
Senior Stuart Lunsford says that he will not miss Shocktoberfest. “I’m going because I live in Firehouse [Second Main Johnson], and my hall is contributing to the event,” he said. “We’re doing karaoke and some other little goodies that are a surprise.”
Like Mansur, Lunsford hopes that the event will bring the campus together.
“I’m all about the community,” he said.