K Week: It's Not Over Yet

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2009) – About 27,000 students have attended classes at the University of Kentucky for three days now.

[IMAGE1]They've been enrolled, oriented, greeted, received, embraced and welcomed. 

They've packed, unpacked, and repacked all the things that won't fit into their new living arrangements. 

The first entries have been scribbled into shiny new 2009-2010 academic planners.  

They've bought their school books and read the first few chapters at least. 

Notebooks, pens, calculators, and sundry other useful and useless items have found their way into backpacks.

They know where to find food, friends, classrooms and tickets to UK athletics events. 

All those firsts are behind them now, all except one – their first weekend as a Wildcat. Sounds like a reason to party, and K Week organizers are there to make it happen.

[IMAGE2]Friday, Aug. 28, is Sea of Blue Day.  Everyone on campus – student, faculty, staff, alum, and visitor alike – is strongly encouraged to show their true colors, which is, of course, Wildcat Blue. And, since everyone is already dressed for the part, stop by Patterson Statue for a photo with a new best friend and the famous UK Wildcat mascot.

To get the weekend off on the right foot, dance the salsa at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center in the Student Center 3-5 p.m. Friday.  Don't know the steps? Not to worry; someone will be there to share a tip or two.

Before leaving the vicinity of the Student Center, check out the wildly popular Mic Check in the Cats Den. Share a personal talent – poetry, dancing, singing, comedy, rapping, anything really – and enjoy the talents of fellow students from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday.

Make sure those extra 10 freshman pounds don't get attached. Visit the Johnson Student Recreation Center and try out the state-of-the-art exercise equipment during Late Night at the JC, slated 9 p.m. to midnight Friday. To see what's happening, visit the Johnson Center live Web Cam.

Then, it's on to the World's Largest Water Balloon Fight at 11:55 p.m. Friday in Johnson Field where the formula for fun is: 100,000 water balloons + 3,000 people = 1 world record. Last year's water balloon fight was a little crazy, but this year – with twice the number of water balloons – it's sure to be insane. Watch the video of last year's event online to get the idea.

[IMAGE3]The Christian Student Fellowship, organizers of the event, are inviting the Lexington community to join UK students in the hopes of breaking the official Guinness World Record for a mass water balloon fight.

“This event will be a fun and unique way for the students at UK to start the school year, but we also encourage people from the Lexington area to be involved,” says Gina Young, an associate staff member at CSF. “We want the water balloon fight to be something that everyone can enjoy. This is an amazing opportunity for both the students and the community to participate in something that will connect everyone in a new and exciting way.”

In order to pull off the event, CSF has been working throughout the summer. “We’ve contacted Guinness, and we’re really excited. They’re on board, and we’re spending tons of time planning. This is going to be something people at UK and around Lexington will remember for a long time,” stated Greg Schuette, an associate campus minister. 

In addition to several promising volleyball games (see the UK Athletics Web site for the full schedule), Saturday offers the Tour De Lexington bus tour. This guided tour of Lexington shows you all the hot spots for entertainment, food, sports and shopping. One quick hour at 2 p.m. Saturday is all you need to get around. Bus pick-up is at the flag plaza, across Euclid Avenue from Memorial Coliseum.

Check the Web site www.ukrealityparty.com for the location of Saturday's Reality Party. All the fun of a huge house party, but without the alcohol, from 9 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday.

And the last scheduled K Week event is Midnight at the Kentucky: "The Hangover." The Kentucky Theatre in downtown Lexington has been a treasured landmark since the 1920s. To welcome new students to UK, the Kentucky is hosting a free midnight movie. Students interested in making the short walk to the theatre should meet at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on Stoll Field, next to the Student Center.