Claire Oliver

Wildstock 2008 will continue to build on its success from the previous years, bringing new attractions, providing more food and increasing club involvement.

The festival, coordinated by the Linfield Activities Board, will be held from 4 – 7 p.m. today on the Riley Intramural field.

Wildstock will feature a variety of attractions including a rock-climbing wall, an acroflight machine, a mechanical bull and a surf machine. Face painting, henna tattoos and tie-dye booths are back by popular demand, along with more than a dozen others sponsored by campus clubs and organizations.

The Spanish club will host piñata bashing and serve tamales. The Feel Good club will hand out grilled-cheese sandwiches and the Democrat’s Club will let students try their hand at fast-pitch baseball.

Greek Life will not only help set up, serve food and work the rides, but will have booths of their own.

Students will have the chance to take home prizes from a relay race, among other competitions to be held; campus radio station KSLC 90.3 will be handing out giveaways.

All activities are free for Linfield students.

The involvement of campus clubs highlights the diversity of student interests on campus.

“So many different groups come together (for Wildstock),” Kasey Richter, ASLC vice president of programming, said. “It’s a way to mingle and meet different types of people.”

Wildstock, which until last year centered on a day-long festival of musical acts, saw an increased turnout from its carnival format and chose to expand on that atmosphere for this year’s event.

This year will feature more local cuisine, as last year the food supply ran short.

Muchas Gracias, El Primo Mexican Foods, Cold Stone Creamery, Chan’s Chinese Restaurant and Thai Country Restaurant will contribute. There will be a wide selection of dishes including chicken pad Thai, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and Oregon burritos. Drinks will be provided by Sodexho.

By holding the traditional Wildstock concert Thursday night, LAB was able to showcase the performers and build on the goals of past event coordinators.

“One of the goals of my predecessor, Jody Witt, was to bring bigger names to Linfield,” Richter said.

Thursday’s concert featured campus favorite Tyrone Wells whose song, “What Are We Fighting For”, has recently been playing on national airwaves. Jason Reeves, who opened for Wells, collaborated with Colbie Caillat for her debut album and can be heard in her latest single “Realize.”

“We’ve lost a lot of traditions over the years,” Richter said. “We really wanted to emphasize the ones we have and create new ones.”

Wildstock, she said, is a fitting way to bring the school year to a close and bring back tradition.

“It’s a great way to end off the year, to talk a break from studying and the stress that comes with finals,” sophomore Liz Bell, audio/visual coordinator for LAB, said. “It’s celebrating everything you’ve accomplished throughout the year.”