Students packed John P. Monahan Plaza Saturday for Student Activities and Recreation’s first-ever Tommie Fest, which hosted a variety of activities, including a series of six concerts inside the Anderson Student Center.

According to STAR Finance and Large Events Intern Mark Hill, more than 400 people attended the event within the first hour. He said he received a lot of positive feedback and hopes Tommie Fest will become an annual event.

“My hope was always that this would turn into something that would continue,” Hill said. “And I think with the numbers that we’re seeing and the response that we’re getting, it will continue.”

Tommie Fest replaced the annual spring concert this year. Although some students were disappointed, Hill said he thinks a more inclusive event like Tommie Fest is a better use of money.

“It’s less expensive than a concert, and we’ve seen more people coming through and better reviews than a concert, as well as being able to provide different types of artists, from salsa to a capella to country,” Hill said. “We’re trying to respond to student feedback, and that’s a lot of what they were asking for was a variety of stuff.”

Junior Sabrina Braddock attended Tommie Fest with friends and participated in most of the activities, from getting metallic temporary tattoos to having their pictures printed on a box of candy. Braddock was glad the event ran from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Junior Mary Ellen Wies came with Braddock and also enjoyed the variety of events. She said she didn’t see much advertising for Tommie Fest and heard about it because she’s a Resident Adviser.

“Better advertisement would be nice, but it’s just the first year, so it’s kind of like a test run,” Wies said. “I think if they built it up a lot more … doing some big advertising campaign on campus would be cool.”

While senior Kirsten Mueller said she had a good time, she would’ve preferred the spring concert instead obscure artists performing.

“I would have liked to have had a concert just because it’s more of a centralized event,” Mueller said. “I think that’s why I wouldn’t mind having all the money go towards one person because then we could get a more famous person to come by, rather than people I’ve never heard of – because it’s fun to sing along and stuff.”

Associate Director of Campus Life John Guetter thought the event was a success, largely due to Saturday’s pleasant weather.

“We were really at the mercy of the weather, and we got a great day and that certainly helped. So I think turnout has kind of met and or exceeded our expectations,” Guetter said.

Although Guetter said some aspects of Tommie Fest could be improved, he sees it becoming an annual event.

“At least in terms of comparing to the spring concert, (students) are pretty excited about (Tommie Fest) and think this is something they would like to see every year,” Guetter said. “Maybe they want the spring concert as well, but just in terms of this and turning this into a tradition – this kind of festival type event – I think it’s something students really love.”

Margaret Galush can be reached at galu4637@stthomas.edu.