UM students bring on the Spring Thaw

After a winter that overstayed its welcome by nearly a month, the Missoula community can finally come out of hibernation to the sights of inflatable pigs, casino lights and faculty members in a dunking booth as a part of the sixth annual Spring Thaw.

Organized by students in the University of Montana’s Entertainment Management Program, the Spring Thaw festival consists of a variety of activities hosted over the course of a week, beginning with The Pink Floyd Experience concert in the University Theatre on April 19 and concluding with a festival on the Oval on April 24.

Scott Douglas, EM Program director, sees the multi-faceted event as an extension of the program’s motto: “Building Community Through Entertainment.”

“The idea behind the Spring Thaw was to create a mechanism to build community,” Douglas said. “That’s really what the program’s all about and Spring Thaw is trying to reinforce that image.”

According to Douglas, Spring Thaw not only aims to provide high-end entertainment, but also serves as an opportunity for the community to help the less fortunate with nonprofit organizations like Beads for Life, Laces for Life and Conscious Alliance.

“What we’re trying to do is to provide an array of ways for people on campus and in the community to give,” he said.

Amanda Cevallos, Clare Koppel and Sandi Nelson have been working behind the scenes of Spring Thaw since the beginning of the semester. All three are enrolled in Douglas’s 400-level management course.

As a part of the course curriculum, students must plan out every aspect of the Spring Thaw – from production to marketing and even sponsorship.

“We just apply what we learn in this class and go out into the real world and do it,” said Cevallos, a senior majoring in dance.

Cevallos, Koppel and Nelson serve as peer mentors for the various planning teams. All three have received Advanced Leadership certificates from the EM Program.

Koppel, a senior studying political science, is primarily in charge of promoting the outdoor festival on the Oval. A former Resident Assistant, she networked with the Residence Life Office by providing incentives, such as free Wilco tickets, for RAs and supervisory staffs to advertise for the event in their respective dorms.

“I know from personal experience that if I had a prize I could win, I would hang (the posters) up,” Koppel said.

Nelson, a junior majoring in accounting, will oversee the production of Casino Night, an invitation-only affair held April 20 at the Broadway Inn. She said Casino Night mainly serves as a chance for those organizing Spring Thaw to acknowledge their supporters while “raising money so you can do these types of activities.”

Cevallos is the head of the Spring Thaw’s Media/DVD team, raising awareness about the EM Program and letting people at the festival know “who’s doing this and what they’re all about.”

While the trio’s majors may be entirely different, Douglas said he believes the EM Program thrives on diversity, and said he’s had people from “literally every department” involved in the past.

For Douglas and his students, the end result of Spring Thaw is well worth the work.

“It’s really exciting for me personally to see students want to do these great things and create the environment to make that happen,” Douglas said.

Tickets for the Pink Floyd Experience are still on sale at all GrizTix outlets for $37.50.

The outdoor festival on the Oval will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 24. Local rock group Miller Creek will perform. The event will include art exhibits, a dunking booth and local vendors.