Written by Lauren Bucher
Music, art, film, charity and student talent all converged Saturday, April 2, to create First Thaw Festival.The two-day festival featured musicians such as Cheyenne Medders, Langhorn Slim and headlining band The Avett Brothers. But the festival was more than a drawn out concert; it was also a humanitarian effort.A total of $2,400 is planned to be donated to Heifer Internationl; 2,260 people attended.”We wanted to do something that was local but that made a big impact: a global impact,” Corey McEntyre,director of Campus Life,said.” It’s more than cows; it’s how to live a sustainable lifestyle.They [Heifer] embody a lot of different aspects that we wanted to give to.”Seed planting, turning cream into butter and a hand-washing station that would be found in a village to promote sanitation were all activities at “Heifer Headquarters” — a tent set up outside of the Rhodes Field House — to illustrate ways that Heifer works.”We are here to raise awareness through simple, hands-on activities about the different programs Heifer is involved in,” Valerie Kimbrough, volunteer organizer for Heifer, said. “We are honored to be partnered with Harding for this festival.”A team of 20 Heifer staff and volunteers worked the tent, showing students hands-on educational activities, conducting a raffle for a camera bag, distributing pamphlets and answering questions about Heifer’s work.At Heifer’s request, all of the products used during the festival were either sustainable or plastic, so they could be recycled.”While my thoughts on humanitarian aid are still developing, Heifer appears to be a creative alternative to unsustainable handouts and monetary donations that often perpetuate financial dependence in developing countries,” junior Logan Mahan said.”I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Heifer is actually doing a lot of work to end poverty nationally. I previously thought they almost exclusively worked abroad.”Students Alan Elrod, Erin Powell, Amy Littleton and Amanda Herren — all members of the Campus Activities Board — worked with the rest of CAB to organize the event. “This [First Thaw] is significant because students did it.This wasn’t a professional multimedia company, advertising company,” McEntyre said. “This was students getting creative with what they see around them, which was just incredible to me.”Along with the Heifer tent, vendors staffed a collection of booths outside the Rhodes, with CAB members selling band merchandise and art majors selling mugs, paintings, photographs and other crafts. $221.40 was raised for Heifer specifically through booth sales. Heifer representatives also collected $381.01.Approximately 1,500 student tickets were sold, according to Littleton, who said the turnout was due in part to extensive planning.In the fall, CAB conducted a poll that asked students what band they would like to see. The Avett Brothers won, and McEntyre began working to have them come.However, plans for a large music festival had already been underway. Elrod and McEntyre had the idea for a large music festival about two years ago during a brainstorming session, according to McEntyre.McEntyre said he believed hosting First Thaw in the Rhodes added to the overall feel and excitement of the festival.”They [the audience] got to be active and engaged with the artists, which is something that doesn’t always get to happen,” McEntyre said. “You have a show in a place like the Rhodes Field House, and it elevates it to a whole new level.”
