Families, high school students drawn to Bigelow Bash 2.0

Pitt’s Bigelow Bash attracted people of all ages with its bands, carnival rides and… Pitt’s Bigelow Bash attracted people of all ages with its bands, carnival rides and food.

People flooded the stretch of Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth and Forbes avenues yesterday for the live performance by Jack’s Mannequin.

“I came back on campus today to hear them play,” Pitt alumnus Matt Keltz said. “I’ve been to the previous bashes, and this is one of the best.”

Caitlyn Depp and Mike Cupo, who are high school seniors of Mt. Lebanon High School, rode The Hurricane, a ride that spins its passengers around in mini-cars that seat four, twice.

“I can’t feel my sides,” Depp said with a giggle. Her boyfriend, Cupo, said he discovered the carnival one day while driving down Fifth Avenue and decided it would make a perfect date. They rode the miniature Ferris wheel, The Expo Wheel, next.

The carnival attracted children and parents as well.

“It’s good publicity for the school,” sophomore Peter Miller said. “It attracts parents and allows them to see the school. This year’s Bash was definitely better.”

Pitt students could pay $5 for an all-day pass or $2 for individual ride passes. Non-Pitt students could pay $10 for an all-day pass or $4 for an individual ride.

The Pitt Program Council presented the opening acts from the Battle of the Bands competition it sponsored in February. The winner and runner-up of the competition, Sleepy V and Sleeping With a Bullet, kicked off the show. Sleeping With a Bullet played a rock rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” among other tunes. Sleepy V’s jazzy style featured smooth vocals and a trumpeter.

Once Jack’s Mannequin took the stage, the crowd started cheering. Those a bit farther from the stage lounged on the William Pitt Union’s lawn and sung lyrics or listened over their piles of homework.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday Pitt students enjoyed a mini-carnival compliments of Swank’s Steel City Shows, complete with a Ferris wheel, Monkey Maze and three other scream-worthy rides

“I can’t feel my face!” Pitt freshman Kenechi Agbim screamed as centripetal force glued her to the walls of the Zero Gravity ride more than 20 feet in the air.

Agbim wobbled off the ride on to solid ground and shared her thoughts of her first Bigelow Bash.

“I wasn’t expecting this” she said of the carnival rides. “I feel pretty shaky. It sucks while it’s happening, but I’ll probably get on it again.”

Lois Frain, of Swank’s Steel City Shows, ran the Mini Hoops stand and expressed her amazement at how many people attended the carnival.

“I’ve only been here two hours, and I’ve already lost 20 balls,” she said referring to the only prize given for successfully shooting a basketball in the nets attached to the back of the stand — a motion that’s harder than it looks. She said it’s the most balls she has lost in a place since she’s been with Swank’s.

Pitt freshman Meg Koleck and her friend Dustin Strickler said The High Flyer, a ride that rocked its passengers back and forth and eventually upside down, was the scariest.

“I actually levitated,” Koleck said as she flattened her brown hair.

Vendors sold chocolate-covered strawberries, funnel cakes and deep-fried Oreos for prices ranging from $3 to $5.

Robyn Szablewski, a Pitt Program Council director, said students requested a Ferris wheel in evaluations of past Bigelow Bashes. She said the weather was poor for the last two Bigelow Bashes, and this was the first year in two years that the event had fair weather.