Beach balls, hula hoops, live music and dancing occupied Lincoln Avenue on Friday night for Penguin Productions’ first Live on Lincoln block party.
Since 2006, Penguin Productions has brought musical artists like WizKhalifa, Chris Young and Andy Grammer to Youngstown State University. This semester, the board wanted to try something a little bit different and came up with the concept for LOL.
Stephen Horn, a senior Penguin Productions member, said the board wanted to make LOL bigger than last spring’s May Day event, whichGrammer headlined.
“We wanted to do something similar to last year, but this time we wanted to try to get campus and the community involved as well,” Horn said. “We wanted to tie in May Day, but go bigger.”
Caroline Standohar, a sophomore Penguin Productions member, said Live on Lincoln is different than other events the group has put on in the past.
“The idea really started in the fall,” Standohar said. “We wanted something fun and laid back to give everyone a break before finals start.”
Nocturne, a New York-based cover band, provided music at LOL, while attendees had the opportunity to participate in water balloon tosses and corn hole tournaments.
Standohar said the lighthearted games gave the event a relaxed feel.
“It is almost like a carnival-like atmosphere,” she said. “Just light-hearted games like these can be a lot of fun and relaxing.”
In addition, every restaurant on Lincoln Avenue offered food and drink specials to LOL attendees.
Penguin Productions member Annalise Walkama said she hopes that LOL can become a campus tradition at YSU.
“We hope this becomes a staple in campus life,” Walkama said.
“We want people to remember how we closed off a section of Lincoln and hopefully have them look forward to this every year.”
Standohar said it was rewarding to see so many students and community members attend the event.
“It has been a great experience knowing all of our hard work brings excitement to such a great student body and campus community,” she said. “It’s exciting to know that this idea can catch on.”