Students dressed in costumes and danced the night away with two DJs and an industrial-strength bubble machine at the College of Design’s annual Halloween Bash at McDaids Irish Pub Saturday night.
This year’s Atlantis-inspired underwater theme, Bash Beneath the Blue, was one of the most well attended bashes to date. More than 280 people attended the event, according to Allison Menius, a senior in environmental design and architecture and president of the Design Council. Students came dressed in costumes, whether they fit the theme or not, ranging anywhere from colorful fish to Pokémon trainers.
However, this year’s bash had to be moved indoors to McDaids Irish Pub located on Hillsborough Street due to a law the City of Raleigh recently passed that prohibits amplified sounds outdoors past 11 p.m.
“In planning the Design Bash this year, we were faced with the struggle between maintaining the tradition of having it in the Pit [and] the integrity of the late-night event,” Menius said. “We decided that it was more important to keep the Design Bash later at night than keeping the location the same. McDaids seemed like a logical solution because it is indoors and is still within walking distance for students.”
“It is always everyone’s favorite design event” said Annie Gray Gibbs, a sophomore in art and design. “It was interesting to see how many people participated in the theme this year, and all of the costumes were great.”
Any NC State student could purchase tickets in advance for $10 or at the door for $12. This year, pre-ticket sales far exceeded expectations of event organizers.
“We usually have the majority of our ticket sales at the door, but this year we sold much more in advance than we have in the past,” Menius said.
As far as picking the bash’s theme, Menius said NC State students had the final say between a medieval, Day of the Dead or an underwater theme.
“As a council, we brainstormed theme ideas, but the true selection of the theme comes from everyone because we hold open voting for the Design Bash theme every year,” Menius said.
The students of NC State wanted an underwater theme, and so the Design Council was happy to provide it.”
The event, which lasted from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m., was traditionally held in the courtyard between Brooks and Kamphoefner Hall, known as the Pit.
Gibbs and Nickolas Gregory, a freshman in design studies, said they considered the move from the Pit to McDaids to be in favor of the event.
“I really liked it,” Gibbs said. “I felt like it opened up the bash to more people, and it also felt like less of an exclusive College of Design event.”
Gregory said it was nice being indoors.
“Initially, I expected the space to be a little crowed by tables and chairs, but McDaids did a good job of providing enough space and accommodating the DJs and everyone else who was there.”
Students left the Halloween bash after dancing the night away with anticipations about the bashes to come.
“It is really cool that the College of Design puts this on every year, and that they put so much thought and effort into organizing everything,” Gregory said. “There isn’t anything I would have changed about this year’s bash, and I am looking forward to attending the next few Halloween bashes as well.”
