U-Fest comes to Coffman lawn

What started out as an idea for a party where friends would get together and compete to see who could eat their way out of a kiddie pool culminated in the first ever U-Fest .

The event, which was held Thursday on the Coffman Union lawn, was the product of two University students, Nick Beste , finance senior, and Kevin Carlow , a 2007 Carlson School of Management graduate in entrepreneurship and marketing.

U-Fest featured booths sponsored by various companies such as Dell, IKEA and State Farm Insurance.

Besides offering games such as the “Textbook Toilet Toss” and a Rock Band video game tournament, each booth also had a sign with the founding story of the sponsoring company.

Various prizes were offered, including Timberwolves tickets, a 50cc scooter and the chance to perform on stage at the upcoming Panic! At the Disco and Dashboard Confessional concert.

Carlow said he and Beste were fortunate enough to get a permit allowing them to hold the event outside of Coffman Union, which he considered the best location for U-Fest.

By securing the lawn for the event, they were able to spend less money on promotions as the area has a lot of foot-trafficking every day.

“It’s crazy,” Ashleigh Brummund , a 2007 Carlson graduate who helped at U-Fest, said. “Everything Kevin has done is uncharted territory.

“It gives a lot of vendors the chance to reach a diverse group of students,” she added. “Students love free stuff.”

It was that word “free” that brought chemistry first-year Jon Helander to U-Fest.

“I just got out of class and heard about free food,” Helander said.

Brummund spoke about the large number of students who waited in line to get free hot dogs earlier in the afternoon.

With the number of people attempting to get hot dogs, Brummund said the volunteers handing out the food started joking for the students to abandon the line and mob.

Carlow, who started planning the event five weeks ago, said more than $25,000 was raised for U-Fest.

Carlow and Beste said they hope U-Fest becomes a spring event down the road.

“It’s a great example of what a couple of student entrepreneurs can do,” John Stavig, the director of the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship and U-Fest adviser, said.

Carlow gave three points of advice for other students looking to put on an event like U-Fest:

“Start early, make lists and don’t sleep,” he said.