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Pantherfest ’08 kicks off school year
Jack’s Mannequin, Lupe Fiasco headline
By Craig Wiroll
UWM’s Campus Kickoff week, with special events designed to help acclimate students to the upcoming school year, concluded Friday with the highly-anticipated PantherFest 2008.
Located at the Marcus Amphitheater on the Henry Maier Festival Grounds, the second annual PantherFest was headlined by two big name acts, Grammy award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco and piano rock band Jack’s Mannequin.
Article continues below slide show
PantherFest 2008 Audio Slide Show
Photography by Sam Hogerton & Kyle Stevens
Produced by Kyle Stevens
PantherFest admission was free to UWM students and alumni and included many activities in addition to the main musical acts. Outside the Amphitheater, students partook in free throw competitions, got their palms read and received henna tattoos. The popular improv show ComedySportz also provided an amusing experience involving interactive skits.
“PantherFest was a blast. I loved it.” said sophomore Bryan Rebhahn. “I love Jack’s Mannequin, but I was not familiar with Lupe Fiasco.”
The decision to choose two different genres this year appealed to a wide variety of students. If neither band appealed to the students, then a free semester’s tuition, burritos and textbooks definitely did.
Both UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett were on hand to help kick off the opening act and welcome students, alumni and the general public.
Transportation was provided for students by shuttle buses, which helped completely fill the lower level of the 25,000-capacity Marcus Amphitheater.
According to Union Director and event organizer Scott Gore, an estimated 9,000 people attended PantherFest this year, an increase in attendance from last year.
“It was fabulous again this year,” said Gore. “I think it really does kick off the campus in a great way.”
UWM recently signed a contract for five more years of PantherFest, so if you missed out on this year’s festivities or want to experience it all over again, you can look forward to PantherFest 2009.
Jonathan Anderson contributed to this report.
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