The first-ever Mallard Madness arts and culture festival will officially kick off Wednesday with the ASUO Street Faire, inviting a large variety of vendors selling handmade merchandise and unconventional street fare.@@http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163103080368920@@
ASUO President Amelie Rousseau said two features of this year’s event will be live student performers during the days and interactive art through a mural on campus.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Amelie+Rousseau@@
Rousseau said ASUO Events Coordinator Mariah Kohles had been working with the Mallard Madness planners since she was hired earlier this year to make sure the two events could work together.@@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/executive.php?a=12@@
A press release detailed more of the plans for Mallard Madness. The release said more than 70 vendors would be selling different items, though Kohles has confirmed more recently that there will be 75 vendors.
As it has in the past few years, the street fair will take place along East 13th Avenue just outside the EMU. The new features — the live performers and the mural — stem from the additional planning going into the arts and culture festival.
“Throughout the day at the EMU Amphitheater and the Fishbowl, various campus groups will be performing. The line-up includes nationally acclaimed a cappella group, On the Rocks, as well as Mind the Gap, Divisi and the Jam Squad,” the press release said.
Vendors will be displaying their wares all day on East 13th Avenue from Wednesday until Saturday this week.
ASUO Outreach Coordinator Brian Allen, one of the major festival coordinators, called Mallard Madness a blanket set of events.@@http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/profile.php?id=1178070151@@
“Mallard Madness is an umbrella for a variety of events happening during this week and aims to bring attention to all of them while uniting the student body in celebration,” Allen said.