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THEMATICALLY SPEAKING FRESHEN UP WEEKEND FESTIVITIES WITH FUN THEME PARTIES
// LINDSEY DIETER
You walk into a friend's house late Saturday night and Sandy and Danny from the movie Grease greet you at the door. On the couch Princess Leia and Han Solo are getting dangerously close. You spot Waldo and his girlfriend Wenda, clad in their red and white striped sweaters and matching hats, in the kitchen pouring shots. Over by the stereo, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are rocking out to a primal jam.
You know you're a little buzzed, but what's going on? Is this some sort of space/time warp or a Hollywood movie set? No, you're still in Lawrence and it's still 2011. You just walked into a Famous Couples party.
If you feel as though you see the same faces at the same places every week, a theme party can break the monotony of the weekend party scene. Ann Whittington, premier event and party planner, says theme parties can make an event memorable and give a party a distinct, individual personality.
"Normal parties can get monotonous," Nadina Goddard, Wichita sophomore, says. Theme parties give her and her friends the opportunity to get crazy and creative, without having to travel or spend a lot of money. "It's always fun to see how outrageous people get, to see the variety of costumes that people come up with," Goddard says.
It's not always easy to attract a large crowd of participants though. The four theme partygoers and party-throwers featured below all agree that a fun, creative idea is the key to rounding up revelers.
TWO OF A KIND
In addition to the prominent pairs mentioned earlier, other impersonators such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Carrie Underwood and her hockey hunk Mike Fisher, Alice and the Mad Hatter and doctors McDreamy and Meredith from the TV show Grey's Anatomy all attended the same Famous Couples party that Emily Cox, St. Louis junior, and her boyfriend did. The duo dressed as Sandy and Danny at the party, which the Pi Beta Phi sorority hosted. "It was fun to try and guess who each couple was," Cox says. People came as famous actors, musicians, movie and TV couples, cartoon characters and even famous historical pairs. "Picking a pair is more fun and challenging than putting together a costume just for yourself," Cox says.
PARTYING.EXPOSED
Goddard hosted this crazy bash for her 20th birthday on March 4. "I wanted to think of the wildest, craziest party idea that I hadn't really seen or be to before," Goddard says, and an ABC — that's "anything but clothes" — party
Contributed Photo
Secret stache: A mustache party can bring out the creative side of people, even those who can't grow facial hair. Drawing a mustache on your fingers can achieve the desired effect for a night of fun.
fit the bill perfectly. Goddard, who crafted a dress out of the cardboard from six-packs of beer, gave her friends a few weeks notice so they could brainstorm ideas and assemble their costumes. It worked, and people came scantily clad in trash bags, boxes, tissue paper, plastic tubs, a suitcase and even lollipops and plastic wrap. "No one could really move or go to the bathroom, but it was worth it," Goddard says. "It was a night of limited mobility, but maximum fun."
When Jessica Cox, Olathe senior, turned 22, she wasn't interested in hitting the bars. After being of the legal drinking age for a year, the bar scene had lost a bit of its luster, and she thought a house party would be more fun and get more people involved.
SAY HELLO TO YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS
Cox threw a 1920s gangsters and mafia party, complete with fedoras and feathers, pinstripe suits, hard liquor and fake $100 bills. She says it was fun to see people's different costumes, and that people were trading accesories and giving away parts of their costume so everyone was dressed up. "Theme parties are a blast because for one night, you don't have to act like yourself," she says.
A NOT-SO-SECRET 'STACHE
"There's just something about mustaches, I guess," Wilkinson says. There were furry mustaches, some drawn on, paper 'staches and others that were drawn on the index finger to be worn on command. "I looked just like my dad," Wilkinson says.
Claire Wilkinson came up with the idea to throw a "Mustache Bash" to do something different and get people excited about something new. Wilkinson, a 23-year-old Lawrence native, has thrown theme parties before but never had quite the participation to make the party great. She must look trustworthy and convincing with a mustache though, because she says nearly everyone joined in the facial hair fun.
Depending how far you want to take them, theme parties can be as simple or as complex
Contributed Photo
Stone-age couple: Brett Lisher and Alexa Cole pose for a photo at a couples theme party.
as you want them to be. So if your night life seems repetitive, or you feel the urge to step into someone else's shoes (or facial hair, or guise, or into no shoes at all), don't be afraid to get creative. Give your party-goers plenty of heads-up, let the creative juices flow and the ridiculous photo ops will present themselves. Just don't forget a camera.
LOOKING FOR OTHER THEME IDEAS TO SPICE UP SATURDAY NIGHT?
**Cowboy Country Party** // Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and rustle up some fun in a pearl snap shirt and a ten-gallon hat.
Heaven and Hell// Dress as an angel or a devil... you decide.
*Toga Party* // A college classic for the animal in you. Bedsheets are a very inexpensive costume.
White Trash Bash // For an added touch, keep your PBR frosty in a bathtub on the front lawn.
**Tacky Sweater** // Best near Christmastime,
put that awful sweater your aunt bought you to
good use.
on Harris/KANSAN maintenance
monns, students can expect to see construction beginning on 12th Street between Louisiana to Vermont streets because the Oread Neighborhood Lighting Project will finally be executed.
Additional funds that were needed from the Community Development Block Grant went through, so the final phases of the
the city of Lawrence, the project will be broken down into four phases. The first phase will include construction on the sidewalk of 12th Street between Louisiana and Vermont streets to comply with handicap standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Phase one has been contracted and workers are busy completing their projects before beginning
Phase two, which includes 10-foot decorative light poles in South Park, will commence as soon as the materials are delivered.
they will wait until class is out and after graduation, so it's the least inconvenient to students."
Phases three and four include the installation of lights along 12th Street between Louisiana
should be completed before the end of the year, Thiel said, with the possibility that phase four will continue until 2012.
SEE LIGHT ON PAGE 3A
The project will help increase safety for students and community members who travel along that pathway.
Oread Neighborhood Lighting Project
CRIME | 3A
Two campus crimes occur during break
Only cases of a stolen bicycle and some ill-placed graffiti stirred the spring break silence.
TICKETS | 3A
One more sentenced in ticket scandal
Former athletics department employees now face steep fines and years of jail time.
AFPIZ
STAMP
HERE
Check here if new address
TO:
PARKING & TRANSIT DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
1501 IRVING HILL ROAD
LAWRENCE, KANSAS 66045-7006
TO:
With the economic inflation and more students taking the bus, the University's parking and transit revenues are decreasing, leading it to make up for the lost revenue in some way.
Students planning on buying a KU parking pass for the next school year could be in for an unpleasant surprise. The parking and transit department at the University is considering a parking fee increase around campus.
Although nothing has been decided upon yet, the department has submitted different budgets to the provost's office. One of the budgets involving the red zone includes a percentage increase on various things like parking permits, fines,
BY LAURA THOMAS
Ithomas@kansan.com
SEE FEES ON PAGE 3A
"The parking and transit department is completely user funded," Donna Hultine, University director of parking and transit, said. "So we really rely on the revenue streams of parking permits, tickets, garage revenue and events."
Check out Kansan.com for more information about the potential increases in parking for the 2011- 2012 school year.
SOFTBALL | 8A
Jayhawks prepare to fight for first Big 12 victory against Huskers today
After recent losses to No.11 Missouri and No.8 Texas, and a split doubleheader against UKMC, Kansas turns its attention to Big 12 play in its upcoming game against No.16 Nebraska.